The Gilmour Academy baseball team used a dominating pitching performance from ace Ben DeMell '21 to win their postseason opener last week.

By virtue of earning a high seed for the playoffs, Gilmour received a bye in the opening round of the state tournament. The Lancers would open their postseason run with a 3-0 win over Tuslaw High School in an OHSAA Sectional Final at Figgie Field at Sharnsky Stadium.

After a scoreless two innings to open the game, the Lancers strung some hits together to take the lead in the third.

DeMell started the rally by helping his own cause as he singled up the middle on an 0-2 pitch. His batterymate Vinny Bandwen '21 followed by lining a single to left. The pitcher and catcher then combined on a double steal to put two runners in scoring position. Paddy Murphy '22 made the most of the double steal as he singled to center to bring both runners home.

Tuslasw had a golden opportunity to get even as it loaded the bases with one out in the fourth inning. However, DeMell escaped the jam by getting a foul popup to third and a fly out to center to end the threat.

Gilmour added an insurance tally in the fifth, a rally once again started by DeMell. The pitcher singled to center, Bandwen followed with a walk and Murphy singled to load the bases. DeMell would then scamper home on a passed ball to put the Lancers up by three

DeMell set down the side in order in both the sixth and seventh innings, striking out four of the six batters he faced, to finish off the win.

DeMell allowed just two hits in his seven innings of work to register his second consecutive shutout. He struck out 12 batters, his fourth double-digit effort of the season and second straight.

The Lancers also played flawless defense behind DeMell as Gilmour did not commit a single error.

With the win over Tuslaw, Gilmour advances to take on Hawken School in a semifinal in the Copley District.

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