Brad Walsh, a member of the Gaylord Islanders’ squad, was picked up this post season by St. Peter. The Saints were thumped by Blue Earth 15-1 in class “C” opening round action at Willmar.

St. Peter trailed 6-0 when Walsh entered the game to pitch 2-2/3 innings in relief. Walsh was hitless in one at-bat.

Gaylord native Mac Zachow was drafted by Chaska for the class “B” state tournament. Zachow was the starting catcher for the Cubs who fell to Rochester 6-3 in first round action at Willmar Saturday. Zachow was hitless in three plate appearances.

Rochester is managed by Gaylord High School graduate Dan Hoefs. The Royals will now play Dundas on Saturday, August 28th at Bird Island. Game time is set for 5:00.

Belle Plaine and Shakopee, two River Valley League teams, were among the winners in opening round action.

Standout pitching led Belle Plaine to a 4-0 win over Mankato. Belle Plaine will now play Sacred Heart on Saturday, August 28th (1:30 p.m.) at Willmar.

Shakopee, the defending class “B” state champ, clipped Austin 1-0 this past weekend. The Indians will now play Hastings on Saturday in Bird Island. That contest is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

Other first round winners in class “B” included Mankato, Savage, Sauk Rapids and Burnsville.

Teams still alive in class “C” are Belle Plaine, St. Joseph, Midway, Ada, Loretto, Blue Earth, Raymond, New Ulm, Howard Lake, Big Lake, Fergus Falls, Moorhead, Hampton, Sacred Heart, Lastrup and Luverne.

Tournament action will continue this weekend. It will conclude Labor Day weekend.

St. Peter earned a state tourney berth with wins over New Market and Winthrop. Walsh pitched scoreless tenth and eleventh innings Wednesday in the 7-3 victory over the New Market Muskies.

St. Peter went on to clinch a state tourney spot Saturday by defeating Winthrop 7-2. The Saints then fell to Belle Plaine 7-2 Sunday in a Region 6C seeding game. Walsh collected three hits in three at-bats in that contest.

The Saints will open state tourney play Saturday against Region 4C champ Blue Earth. That tilt will be Saturday at 5:00 p.m. in Spicer. Belle Plaine meanwhile will face Mankato at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Spicer.

Walsh has become a regular draftee in recent years. He was St. Peter’s second draft pick and third overall for the Region tourney.

Walsh was among the leaders for Gaylord this season in several categories. Walsh cranked out a .330 batting average which was second to teammate Paul Mages who hit .360. Walsh shared the team lead with Brian Winter with 14 RBI’s. He also was a team leader with 14 walks.

As a draftee, Walsh can play catcher or pitch for St. Peter. The rigthander logged the most innings for the Islanders this season. His official pitching statistics were unavailable.

A member of the Green Isle amateur baseball team, Zachow was Chaska’s first draft pick and the second pick overall. The Cubs were the Region 3B runnerup. Shakopee was the Region 3B champion.

Zachow is expected to catch when Chaska opens state tournament play Saturday in Willmar against Rochester. The Rochester team is managed by Gaylord High School graduate Dan Hoefs. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m.

This will be Zachow’s 17th state tournament appearance. He was drafted by Prior Lake for state tourney action in 2009.

St. Peter will host St. Benedict in the opening round of Region 6C. That game will be played Friday, August 6th beginning at 8:00 p.m.

Walsh was among the leaders for Gaylord this season in several categories. He cranked out a .330 batting average which was second to teammate Paul Mages who hit .360. Walsh shared the team lead with Brian Winter with 14 RBI’s. He also was a team leader with 14 walks.

As a draftee, Walsh can play catcher or pitch for St. Peter. The righthander logged the most innings for the Islanders this season. His official pitching statistics were unavailable.

Walsh was St. Peter’s second draft pick and third overall. Arlington’s Joe Lucas was the first draftee selected by St. Peter. Winthrop then picked Scott Dose of Arlington. The fourth and final draftee in the River Valley League West was Fairfax’s Cody Loverude.

Belle Plaine won the River Valley League Central while Chanhassen finished second. Draftees in the River Valley League Central included Darron Culbert (Le Sueur), Jeremy Salden (Waconia), Luke Fraundienst (Henderson) and Mat Peot (Henderson).

Other opening round games in Region 6C include Chanhassen at New Market and Winthrop at Belle Plaine. All opening round games will be played this Friday.

A fast start powered Winthrop to an 11-3 victory over the visiting Islanders. The playoff tilt was halted in the first inning due to rain on Tuesday night. It was completed the following evening.

Winthrop rallied for five runs in the first frame. Four of the first five Eagles belted singles. That set the table for Andy Melius who drilled a two out home run to quickly give the home team a 5-0 advantage.

Gaylord starter Brad Walsh would settle down over the next two frames. He set down the Eagles in order and struckout five of the six batters faced.

The Islanders’ offense meanwhile would reach the scoreboard in the top of the third. A pair of errors and two walks fueled the three run rally. Collin Grams recorded the lone hit and eight Islanders batted in the frame.

Gaylord would threaten in the next six innings but couldn’t push anymore runs across. They would strand five runners in scoring position during that stretch.

Winthrop meanwhile would manufacture another rally in the fourth inning. Three hits and three Gaylord errors would enable the Eagles to take a 9-3 advantage.

Melius would close out the scoring for the game. He hit his second home run of the game in the seventh frame. The two-run shot put Winthrop on top 11-3.

Paul Mages led the Islanders in the setback with a single and and a double. Mages led all Gaylord players this season with a .360 batting average.

Grams, Walsh and Justin Rettmann had one hit apiece for the Islanders.

Walsh suffered the mound loss. He allowed seven earned runs on eleven hits in seven innings of work. Walsh struckout 12 and walked two.

Brian Winter pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Islanders. He yielded one hit.

Gaylord finishes with a 7-20 record. Winthrop meanwhile qualified for regional play by handily defeating top seed Arlington and its ace Joe Lucas on Thursday.

Mike Walsh’s Islanders, the fourth seed, defeated #5 Fairfax in opening round action Wednesday. Gaylord was then routed by top seed Arlington on Friday.

The Islanders play an elimination game at Winthrop tonight (Wednesday). The winner advances to play at Arlington on Thursday.

St. Peter is the lone unbeaten team in the tournament so far. The top two finishers advance to region play.

Gaylord 8 Fairfax 3
A fifth inning flurry led Gaylord’s Islanders to victory Wednesday. They scored five times in the fifth frame enroute to an 8-3 win over Fairfax at Walsh Field.

Both teams reached the scoreboard in the second inning. Fairfax plated a run without recording a hit. Gaylord then answered with two runs on singles by Josh Gasow and Trevor Vaubel.

An error, a pair of basehits and a walk enabled the Cardinals to regain the lead in the third inning. They would lead 3-2 until Gaylord broke through in the fifth frame.

Collin Grams would kick off the fifth inning rally for Gaylord. He singled and eventually scored when Gasow blasted a two run triple.

Gaylord would go on to get four more singles and three more runs in the rally. Recording the hits were Vaubel, Brian Winter, Justin Rettmann and McKoy Rodning.

The Islanders’ four run lead would stand over the final four innings. Fairfax had baserunners in each frame but could not dent Gaylord’s lead.

Vaubel was the winning pitcher. He allowed three runs, only one of which was earned, in seven innings of work. Vaubel yielded three hits and struckout six.

Jake Pichelmann pitched two innings of relief for the Islanders. He blanked the Cardinals on two hits and three strikeouts.

Vaubel and Winter led Gaylord offensively with three hits apiece. Winter, Rodning and Gasow combined for six RBI’s.

Gaylord 1 Arlington 12
Fresh off a regular season win over Arlington, Gaylord appeared to be no match for the A’s in post season play. The Islanders fell behind early and lost at Arlington 12-1.

The top-seeded A’s rattled off four runs in the first inning. A pair of errors and hits by Joe Lucas and James Vanbuskirk fueled the early scoring for Arlington.

Arlington would pick up single runs in the second and third innings before putting the game away with a six run rally in the fourth frame. Arlington cranked out five straight singles in the fourth inning.

Gaylord’s lone run came in the sixth inning. Collin Grams reached on a walk and scored on Jon Waltz’s basehit.

Josh Gasow was tagged with the mound loss. He allowed eight earned runs on ten hits in four innings. Gasow struckout two and walked four.

Paul Mages blanked the A’s over the final two innings. He struckout two.

Gaylord, 6-18, is the fourth seed for the River Valley League west playoffs. The Islanders will host #5 Fairfax in opening round action Wednesday at Walsh Field.

One win last week would have given Gaylord the #3 seed. Winthrop is now #3 while Arlington and St. Peter are #1 and #2 respectively.

For more on the River Valley League west playoffs, see bracket on this page.

Gaylord 5 Winthrop 6
Gaylord yielded two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday and fell to host Winthrop 6-5.

A four run rally in the sixth inning gave the Islanders a 4-2 advantage. Jon Waltz highlighted the at-bat with a double while Justin Rettmann delivered a two run single.

Gaylord added a run in the seventh frame to make it a 5-3 contest but the purple couldn’t close the door on the Eagles.

Winthrop, on four walks, scored one run in the eighth frame. Two singles and an error then gave the home team the victory in the ninth inning.

Brian Winter pitched the first five innings for Gaylord and allowed three unearned runs on three hits. Winter struckout six and walked six.

Tim Young pitched the final three innings. He struckout three and walked five.

Gaylord 1 Waconia 4
Islanders’ manager Mike Walsh said his club hit the ball hard Friday but had little to show for it in a 4-1 setback at Waconia.

Brad Walsh produced the lone run for Gaylord as he smashed one over the fence in the sixth inning.

Waconia meanwhile picked up single runs in each the first and fourth innings. The home team closed out the scoring with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth frame.

Walsh was the losing pitcher allowing three earned runs on five hits in seven innings. He struckout five and walked seven.

Relief pitcher Brian Winter hurled a scoreless eighth inning for Gaylord.

Gaylord 5 Belle Plaine 14
Gaylord couldn’t put the brakes on Belle Plaine’s offense last Tuesday. The Islanders were on the short end of a 14-5 decision at Walsh Field.

Belle Plaine came out swinging and would score runs in six of its nine at-bats. The visitors tagged Gaylord pitching for 17 hits including five doubles and a home run.

Collin Grams led Gaylord’s eleven hit attack with a home run, a double and two singles. Paul Mages added a pair of doubles for the Islanders.

Trevor Vaubel was the starting pitcher for the Islanders. He yielded ten runs on eleven hits in 3-1/3 innings. Jake Pichelmann and William Paine pitched in relief for the Islanders.

The four day amateur baseball tournament was co-hosted by Gaylord and Arlington. Owatonna was crowned champion Sunday after defeating Lamberton in the finals at Arlington. Raymond captured consolation honors. Tate Cummins of Owatonna was named the tournament’s “Most Valuable Player.”

Gaylord, 6-15, will play at Waconia on Friday and at Winthrop on Sunday, July 18th (2:00 p.m.). Post season play is scheduled to begin July 21st.

Gaylord 4 Hanska 5
It was a solid effort but Mike Walsh’s Islanders couldn’t put Hanska away on Saturday. The Islanders gave up three runs in the sixth inning and fell to the 2009 class “C” runnerup 5-4 at Gaylord’s Walsh Field.

Hanska led early. Three hits gave the Lakers a 1-0 advantage in the first inning. They tacked on another run in the third frame.

Gaylord picked up a pair of runs in the second inning. Collin Grams led off the at-bat with a double and scored on Josh Gasow’s basehit. Gasow would then score when Paul Mages slugged the first of his two doubles.

The Islanders’ bats produced three more hits and two more runs in the fifth inning. Mages hit a rare ground rule double as his shot over the centerfielder’s head appeared to hit the warning track and it bounced over the fence. That prevented Trevor Vaubel, who singled, from scoring. But, it wouldn’t matter as Jon Waltz promptly followed with a two run single to put Gaylord on top 4-2.

Starting pitcher Tim Young set down Hanska in order with three infield outs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The Lakers then managed to rally in the sixth frame. Five singles produced three runs to put Hanska back on top.

The one run lead would stand as Gaylord was set down in order in the seventh frame.

Young was tagged for five runs on nine hits in 6-2/3 innings. The righthander struckout four and walked five.

Vaubel, Mages and Waltz led the Gaylord bats with two hits apiece.

Gaylord 0 St. Patrick 3
St. Patrick ace Bill Dunkar proved too strong for Gaylord’s Islanders on Thursday night. The purple was blanked by St. Patrick 3-0 in an extra inning tournament game at Arlington.

Dunkar and Gaylord’s Brad Walsh were hooked up in a pitcher’s duel through seven innings. Each team managed but two hits apiece in that span.

Gaylord’s McKoy Rodning touched Dunkar for a single in the eighth inning but the hard throwing righthander fanned the other three hitters in the frame.

St. Patrick’s offense meanwhile broke through for three runs in the top of the eighth inning. Two walks and a hit batter helped fuel the rally. St. Patrick also laced a single and double in the at-bat.

Walsh yielded three runs on four hits in eight innings of work. He struckout five and walked six.

Gaylord bats shine in 11-4 win at Chanhassen

A surge of offense propelled Gaylord’s amateur baseballers to victory last Tuesday. The Islanders cranked out 14 hits in an 11-4 league victory at Chanhassen.

Gaylord took command early and scored all of its runs in the first six innings of action. The Islanders produced three runs rallies in each the second and third innings. They added two runs in the fifth and two in the sixth.

Jon Waltz highlighted offensive action for the winners with three hits and two RBI’s. Other Gaylord players knocking in a pair of runs included Justin Rettmann, Collin Grams and Tim Young.

Josh Gasow was the winning pitcher. He allowed four runs on five hits in six innings pitched. Gasow struckout four and walked seven.

Young pitched the final three innings for the winners. He struckout six and allowed but two singles.

After stumbling through the early innings, Gaylord rallied to defeat Arlington 9-7 in River Valley League action at Walsh Field. It was the Islanders’ first victory over the A’s since 2007.

It appeared Arlington’s stronghold on the Islanders in recent years would continue. Two hit batsmen, an error, and a single gave the A’s a 2-0 advantage in the first inning. They would add another run in the second inning on a walk and a trio of singles.

Gaylord bounced back with a four run, third inning. Trevor Vaubel and Jon Waltz opened the at-bat by reaching on a walk and single respectively. Both players would later score on Justin Rettmann’s two out-single. It was the first of three straight hits as Brad Walsh and Paul Mages also stroked singles to give the Islanders a 4-3 advantage.

Arlington would regain the lead with two runs in the top of the seventh. Another hit batter and another Gaylord error would help fuel the A’s rally. They also got singles from veterans Scott Dose and Bryce Eggert.

With some nifty hustle on the base paths, some Arlington fielding woes, and a few hits, Gaylord would rally in the bottom of the seventh. Vaubel again kicked things off, this time with a leadoff double. He would score on another clutch two out hit by Rettmann and it would prove to be the first of four runs for the Islanders. Collin Grams would sneak home from third base to put Gaylord on top 6-5. He stole after noticing the pitcher looking the other way and the catcher wandering away from homeplate. Mages and Josh Gasow would add singles later in the at-bat to put the purple on top 8-5.

A fielding error and a double by Waltz would stretch Gaylord’s lead to 9-5 in the eighth frame.

Arlington would score single runs in the eighth and ninth frames. Gaylord reliever Tim Young would hit the first two batters of the final inning. But, with the bases loaded, Young would close out the game by getting Arlington standout Joe Lucas to fly out to right field.

Brad Walsh hurled the first six innings for Gaylord and allowed two earned runs on five hits. Walsh struckout five.

Matt Pichelmann would get the mound victory as he pitched the seventh and eighth frames. The former Arlington player allowed three runs on three hits. Young meanwhile struckout two in getting the save.

Rettmann powered the Gaylord offense with three hits and three RBI’s.

The Islanders, 5-13, will play St. Patrick at Arlington Thursday in the first round of the Miller High Life Invite being co-hosted by Gaylord and Arlington. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m.

Shorthanded Gaylord nine gets toppled at Prior Lake

A shorthanded Gaylord baseball team was handed an 11-2 setback Thursday at Prior Lake.

Fourth of July weekend apparently started a few days early for several of the Islanders. Manager Mike Walsh said only eight of his 20 players were available forcing him to play right field.

Walsh would take one for the team in more ways than one. He was hit by a pitch in his first at-bat and it lead to a Gaylord run in the third inning.

The Islanders would pick up their second run in the fifth frame. Justin Rettmann reach on a single and scored on Brad Walsh’s sacrifice fly.

Prior Lake led the contest from start to finish. Trevor Vaubel pitched the first five innings for the Islanders. Paul Mages and Rettmann pitched in relief. Official pitching statistics were unavailable.

Gaylord, 4-12, will host Arlington on Wednesday (tonight) at 7:30. This game was originally scheduled for June 25th but was postponed due to inclement weather.

The Islanders will play at Prior Lake on Thursday.

Gaylord 9 St. Peter 4
A season best 19 hits led Mike Walsh’s Gaylord club to victory Sunday. The Islanders overcame an early deficit to defeat St. Peter 9-4 in River Valley League play at Walsh Field.

Two hits an error and a walk enabled St. Peter to take a 2-0 advantage in the first inning. The visitors would stretch the margin to 4-0 with single runs in each the second and third frames.

Gaylord would cut the lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the third inning. Josh Gasow and Brad Walsh opened the at-bat with consecutive singles. Both would later score on a hit by Zach Borchert.

The Islanders then rallied for five runs in the fourth inning. Brian Winter highlighted the burst with a two run single. Other Gaylord players recording hits in the rally included Justin Rettmann, Paul Mages and Jon Waltz. The Islanders sent ten batters to the plate in the fourth inning flurry.

The 7-4 lead would prove to be more than enough for Gaylord’s pitching and its defense. Winter blanked St. Peter over the final 5-2/3 innings. He allowed but four hits in that span.

Gaylord would add a pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning. Mages and Winter opened that at-bat with consecutive singles. Borchert then delivered another two run basehit to put the purple on top 9-4.

Borchert led all Gaylord hitters in the win with three hits and a season high five RBI’s. Mages also charted three singles for the winners. Five Islanders had two hits including Rettmann, Gasow, Walsh, Winter and Tim Young.

Gasow was the starting pitcher for Gaylord. The righthander allowed two earned runs on four hits in 3-1/3 innings. Gasow struckout five and walked four.

Winter would shut down St. Peter the rest of the way. He struckout four.

Gaylord 5 Fairfax 1
A pitching gem by Trevor Vaubel led Gaylord’s Islanders to victory last Tuesday as they knocked off visiting Fairfax 5-1 at Walsh Field.

Vaubel yielded but five hits in earning the complete game victory. The righthander struckout five and walked one. And the lone run for Fairfax was unearned.

“We needed a good pitching performance and Trevor delivered,” Islanders manager Mike Walsh said. “He is one of our most consistent players and has become a player we can count on.”

An error, a hit batter and a basehit enabled Fairfax to grab a 1-0 lead in the third inning. But, the Cardinals would get no more and Vaubel set them down in order in four of the final six innings.

Gaylord would knot the game at 1-1 in the fourth frame. Brad Walsh reached on a fielder’s choice and eventually scored when Paul Mages stroked a two out basehit.

Mages led off the seventh inning with a single which proved to be the start of a two run at-bat for the Islanders. Jake Pichelmann would later deliver the game winning hit. His double plated Mages and Brian Winter.

Gaylord picked up two more runs in the eighth inning. That at-bat started with walks to Collin Grams and Vaubel. Mages then added his third single of the night while Winter added a sacrifice fly.

Winter led all Islanders with three hits. Pichelmann led Gaylord with two RBI’s.