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Gaithersburg Post 295, the two-time defending champion, reached postseason play only after Cissel Saxon Post 41 lost on the last day of the regular season. Post 295 has put that new life to good use.

The team stamped its ticket to the final round in an 8-6 win over second-seeded Laurel Post 60 (17-10) during Wednesday's winners' bracket contest at Good Counsel High School in Olney.

"We barely made it in," Gaithersburg outfielder Mike Ryan said. "We struggled early on in the year and then we played good ball in New York. We've been hitting the ball pretty well and we made it to the playoffs."

Gaithersburg (16-11) has won its first two games of the tournament and will now wait for the winner of today's elimination game between Post 60 and third-seeded Damascus Post 171 (17-10). Damascus knocked top-seeded Sandy Spring Post 68 (18-9) out of the playoffs with a 6-2 win Wednesday on a grand slam from Mark Smith.

Post 295, which reached the tournament final for the 15th time in the past 21 years, has to win one of a possible two games – a second championship game would be played Saturday if Gaithersburg loses Friday – to capture a third consecutive divisional crown.

It already had an automatic berth in next week's Maryland State American Legion tournament as the host. Today's winner will join Gaithersburg at states regardless of the outcome of the finals.

"I can't say I did [expect to reach the final]," Gaithersburg manager Rick Price said. "I expected them to play hard, though, and I knew we've got good pitching and if we got some timely hitting [his squad would be successful] and we got all that."

Good pitching has been the key so far. After Tyler Klitsch threw a complete-game win against Sandy Spring on Tuesday, St. Albans graduate Christian Sbily went the distance Wednesday, meaning Post 295 has loads of fresh arms ready for the championship game.

Sbily, who will play at Tufts (Mass.) University next year, held a potent Laurel attack scoreless through the first four innings. Post 60 finally broke through with two unearned runs in the fifth and another run in the sixth, but by then Post 295 had built an 8-3 lead.

Sbily struggled somewhat in the seventh, allowing a three-run double by Jamie Williams before inducing a ground ball back to the mound to end the game.

"I was just trying to get strikes throwing fastballs and I kind of left one up for him to hit," Sbily said. "I knew I had two outs. I came back to the next batter with a curveball and it just got us out of there. I just didn't mix it up as well that last inning as I did the rest of the game."

Post 295 opened up a 3-0 lead in the third inning on a run-scoring single by Frank Barkanic, a fielder's choice by Nick Karis and a double by Ryan (4 for 5, RBI) to left center field. It added five runs in the fifth largely on a solo shot by Karis and run-scoring singles by Patrick Cole and Greg Price.