PHILADELPHIA (Interstat) — Penn broke open a tight game with a five-run fourth inning and never looked back, cruising to an 11-3 victory over Brown on Saturday in the first game of an Ivy League doubleheader at Hank DeVincent Field.

The Quakers, now 19-19 overall, answered an early 3-0 deficit by scoring three runs in the third inning to tie the game and then took the lead for good with a five-spot in the fourth. Center fielder Gavin Degnan went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs, and catcher Ernie Echevarria had three hits and drove in two runs to lead a 13-hit attack.

Brown (21-18) struck first in the top of the first inning. Leadoff batter Ray Luigs singled, advanced on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a throwing error by Penn first baseman Nick Spaventa on a ball hit by catcher Joe Benevento. Luigs scored on the play, but Benevento was eventually thrown out trying to advance. The Bears added two more runs in the second. Kevin Edmunds walked, moved to second on a single by Matt Butera and scored on a groundout by Ben Dever. Butera later scored on a passed ball in the fifth to give Brown its three runs.

Penn starter Thomas Shurtleff settled in after allowing the early runs. He pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Nicholas Newburn, who threw two innings of one-hit ball. Jake Moss earned the win, tossing five innings of six-hit ball, allowing two earned runs and striking out five.

The Quakers’ comeback began in the third inning. With two outs, Matt O’Brien singled, stole second and scored on James Secretarski’s single. Secretarski stole second, and after a walk to Spaventa, pinch hitter Luke Pokrovsky singled to center to bring home another run, cutting the deficit to 3-2.

Penn took command in the fourth. Echevarria singled, Nick Guachione singled and both moved up on a sacrifice bunt. After a walk loaded the bases, Secretarski walked to force in the tying run. Degnan then walked to force in the go-ahead run, and Spaventa followed with a two-run single to make it 6-3.

Brown got one back in the fifth on a wild pitch and a passed ball, but Penn answered in the seventh. Echevarria doubled down the left-field line to score pinch runner Matt Collins, and Guachione followed with a two-run homer to left to stretch the lead to 9-3. Degnan added a solo homer in the eighth, and Echevarria doubled in an unearned run later in the inning to cap the scoring.

Brown second baseman Mark Henshon finished 2-for-5 with an RBI, including a ninth-inning double. But the Bears managed only nine hits and left nine runners on base.

Brenden Kline pitched two innings of relief for Brown, allowing one earned run. Penn’s bullpen held the Bears to one hit over the final four innings, with Nicholas Newburn, Thomas Shurtleff and Jake Moss combining for nine strikeouts.

The game was the first of a scheduled doubleheader after the teams split a pair of games on Friday, with Brown winning 13-9. Penn’s win evened its overall record at .500, while Brown fell three games above .500.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Brown 7, Penn 6, though Interstat’s ELO system gave Penn a 67.10 percent probability to win.