ST. CLOUD -- In two swings of the bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, Marshall went from trailing by one to leading by one.

Left fielder Brad Bahlmann hit a run-scoring single to tie the score, and designated-hitter Mason Penske followed with a single to take the lead.

The fourth-seed Tigers (24-4) added one more run in the inning and defeated fifth-seed Glencoe-Silver Lake 5-4 on Thursday afternoon in a Class 2A quarterfinal at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud.

“Both teams had clutch hitting there when it mattered,” Marshall coach Chace Pollock said. “It was kind of one of those deals today where it felt like the team who hit last would win.”

Fortunately for the Tigers, that didn’t happen. Glencoe-Silver Lake (20-5) scored a run in the top of the seventh to cut the Tigers’ lead to one, but with Penske on the mound the Tigers escaped the jam.

With the fourth run already scored and a runner on second base with one out, Panthers’ second baseman Teddy Petersen was thrown out at third after a pickoff attempt from Penske sailed into the outfield.

Penske said after the game that he got “really scared” when he threw the ball away, but “(centerfielder) Connor (Winkelman) saved me.”

“It was nice to only have one runner on base, rather than two,” Penske said. “All the stress was gone.”

Penske then got a strikeout to end the game.

“He’s kind of been that guy here come playoff time for us down the stretch,” Pollock said of Penske. “You know, he came through for us again today.”

At the plate, Penske hit a go-ahead hit that chased Panthers’ starter Tanner Grack, who gave way to Jacob Popelka. Marshall pinch-hitter Brent Andries then hit a single to extend the lead to 5-3.

Marshall starting pitcher Drew Hmielewski struck out the first two batters of the game, and got a pop out to end the inning. The junior had at least one strikeout in each of the first three innings.

Marshall will play top seed St. Cloud Cathedral (23-0) in a semifinal game at noon on Friday.