PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Interstat) — Bryan Yang delivered six dominant innings and the Brown Bears capitalized on early opportunities before breaking the game open late to defeat the Holy Cross Crusaders 9-1 in nonconference baseball Tuesday afternoon at Murray Stadium.

Yang, the Bears’ starting pitcher, set the tone, allowing just three hits and no earned runs while striking out four. He faced minimal trouble, efficiently working through the Crusaders’ lineup as Brown built a lead it would not relinquish.

The Bears struck first in the opening inning against Holy Cross starter Dan Mateffy. Mika Petersen singled, Alex Benevento and DJ Dillehay walked to load the bases, and Mark Henshon’s groundout brought in Petersen. Benevento then scored on a wild pitch to give Brown a 2-0 advantage before an out was recorded in the second.

That early outburst proved sufficient for Yang, who kept Holy Cross off balance. The Crusaders managed only five hits total, with their lone run coming in the seventh inning after Yang had departed. Ryan Grundy doubled off reliever Matt Wilmarth, advanced to third on a flyout and scored on a single by Macade Maxwell.

Holy Cross received strong relief pitching to keep the game within reach for much of the evening. After Mateffy allowed two runs in 2 1/3 innings, Colin Dowdle and Marco Citro combined for four hitless innings of relief, with Dowdle striking out one over 2 2/3 frames and Citro adding 1 1/3 perfect innings.

The pivotal sequence, however, came in the bottom of the fifth. With Brown leading 2-0, the Bears extended their lead without a hit. After a walk and a fielder’s choice, Benevento doubled. Dillehay then reached on a crucial fielding error by the Holy Cross shortstop, allowing two unearned runs to score and doubling the lead to 4-0.

Brown put the game out of reach with a five-run eighth inning, sending 10 batters to the plate. Christian Butera and Logan Meusy reached on a single and a hit-by-pitch, respectively. Matt Luigs then delivered a two-run single, and Petersen followed with an RBI single. After a pitching change, Benevento capped the rally with a sacrifice fly, his second of the game and third RBI.

Christian Keel closed the game for Brown in the ninth, striking out all three batters he faced, though one reached on a wild pitch.

Petersen led the Bears’ eight-hit attack, going 3 for 5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Benevento drove in three runs despite just one official at-bat, adding two walks and two sacrifice flies.

The victory improved Brown’s record to 16-13, while Holy Cross fell to 16-19. The Bears’ win defied a pregame projection from Interstat’s ELO system, which had given the Crusaders a 52% probability to win.

Holy Cross will open a four-game Patriot League series against Navy on Friday. Brown is scheduled to begin Ivy League play with a doubleheader against Columbia on Saturday.