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After losing six straight games, Gaylord’s amateur baseballers gained a much needed lift last week.

Wins over Victoria and Henderson have the Islanders riding into post season play with a bit more confidence. The two victories also landed Gaylord a home game in the first round of the River Valley League West Playoffs.

The Islanders, 7-15 overall, will open playoff action Wednesday (tonight) against Winthrop. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. at Walsh Field.

The top two teams from the River Valley West playoffs will advance to Region play. For more playoff information, visit the Islander’s website.

Gaylord 13 Victoria 7

Mike Walsh’s Islanders cranked out a season high 17 hits Thursday in a 13-7 win over Victoria in River Valley League action at Gaylord.

Trevor Vaubel and Brian Winter powered the offensive attack for the Islanders with five and four hits respectively. Vaubel also contributed three RBI’s.

“It was nice to finally get the bats going,” manager Walsh said. “We needed a game like this to gain some confidence offensively before the playoffs start.”

Gaylord knotted the game at 4-4 in the fifth inning, then rallied for seven runs in the sixth frame. Paul Mages sparked the flurry with a three run double. Vaubel, Winter and Brad Walsh added singles in the inning which saw Gaylord bat around the order.

The Islanders extended their lead to 13-4 with single runs in their seventh and eighth inning at-bats.

Victoria, on three consecutive hits, rallied for three runs in the ninth inning but could get no closer.

Along with being Gaylord’s offensive leader, Vaubel also recorded the mound win. The righthander scattered eight hits in nine innings of work. Vaubel struckout ten and walked four.

Mages joined Vaubel with three RBI’s in the rout. Walsh knocked in two runs for the winners.

Eric Winegarden led Victoria with a home run and three RBI’s.

Gaylord 5 Henderson 4

Two runs early and two runs late enabled Gaylord to slip by Henderson on Sunday as the Islanders posted a 5-4 league win at Walsh Field.

Gaylord led 3-0 early only to have the Tigers rattle off the next four runs. The Islanders bats then came back to life in the eighth frame producing the eventual game winning rally.

A double by Collin Grams and a single by Brad Walsh set the table for Gaylord in the first inning. Paul Mages would plate both players with a single.

Another hit by Grams put the purple and grey on top 3-0 in the second frame.

A pair of hits and two Gaylord errors enabled Henderson to trim the margin to 3-2 in the third inning. The Tigers struck again in the eighth frame. Three hits, including a triple by Luke Frauendienst, put the visitors on top 4-3.

Singles by Josh Gasow and Brian Rodning knotted the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth frame. Paul Mages then scored the game winning run. He reached on an error and scored on Brian Winter’s single.

Walsh and Grams led the winners with three and two hits respectively. Mages charted a team high two RBI’s for the winners.

Darin Hendley was the winning pitcher. He allowed four runs, only two of which were earned, in nine innings of work. Hendley yielded eight hits and struckout nine.