Submitted photo Mason Leonard (7) makes a catch in right field as Henry Scheitel looks on in Thursday’s 2A playoff game against Mankato Loyola.

SPRINGFIELD — Elimination bracket games are typically tense, but Springfield pitcher Hunter Mathiowetz didn’t seem rattled one bit.

Mathiowetz stayed calm, even after some bad bounces led to a couple of Springfield errors behind him. He went five innings, allowed four hits and one earned run as the Tigers moved on in the Section 2A playoffs with a 6-2 win over Mankato Loyola on Thursday.

Up 2-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth, the Tigers scored four runs in the fifth to break the game open. Decker Scheffler’s triple scored Mitchell Buerkle and Tanner Vogel to put Springfield up 4-1 at that point.

Mathiowetz, meanwhile, was in a groove on the mound, allowing the lone Crusaders’ run in the top of the third inning.

“We got a good defense behind us, I’m always confident,” Mathiowetz said.

Max Sernett took the loss for Loyola. He went six innings and allowed nine hits and six runs, two of them earned. He struck out four.

Henry Scheitel allowed a run in the sixth for Springfield after he took over for Mathiowetz and Mason Rummel shut the door on the Crusaders’ season, striking out one in the seventh inning.

The Tigers, as always, were aggressive on the base paths. They stole eight bases, including three by Nolan Hovland and two from Buerkle.

“Overall, I’m very pleased,” Springfield coach Brandon Wilhelmi said. “You look at a couple of those errors and those are very uncharacteristic of our team. A couple of bad hops, but we’re going to continue to work on those things. We had a couple of stolen bases, their pitcher did a nice job of mixing looks and their catcher had a nice arm.”

The Tigers got a run in the bottom of the second after Ivan Hovland singled to score Rummell’s courtesy runner Tori Helget. The Crusaders tied the game in the top of the third, but the Tigers retook the lead in the fourth.

There, Mathiowetz reached on an error and his courtesy runner, Nolan Hovland, eventually scored.

Scheffler’s triple put the Tigers up 4-1 in the fifth. Isaac Fink followed with a sacrifice fly on a diving catch by the Loyola centerfielder that scored Scheffler. Nolan Hovland scored another run, this one on an RBI single from Rummel.

Rummel finished the game 2 for 3 with an RBI and Ivan Hovland was 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Scheffler drove in a pair of runs with his triple and Buerkle was 2 for 3 with a run scored. Tanner Vogel and Scheitel also had a hit for the Tigers.

Springfield (16-4) will play another elimination bracket game at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Franklin Rogers Park against Martin Luther/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman (13-4).