LEWISBURG, Pa. (Interstat) — Brett Mulligan delivered a dominant starting performance and John LaFleur drove in three runs as Holy Cross built a seven-run lead and then held off a furious late rally by Bucknell for a 7-5 victory Saturday at Eugene B. Depew Field in the opener of a Patriot League doubleheader.

The win improved Holy Cross to 16-17 overall, while Bucknell fell to 19-14.

The game’s most critical sequence came in the bottom of the eighth inning, when Bucknell, trailing 7-1, sent 11 batters to the plate and scored four runs to turn a potential blowout into a tense finish. Holy Cross reliever Henry Harding, who entered in the sixth, loaded the bases with one out via a single, a hit batter and a walk. A walk to Garrett Mathias forced in a run, and after Marco Citro replaced Harding, a John Calabrese groundout and a two-run single by Michael Chiaravallo brought the Bison within two runs. Citro then loaded the bases again with a hit batter and a walk before finally escaping the jam by getting Andrew Swenson to fly out.

Citro returned for the ninth and retired the side in order to secure the win and strand the potential tying runs from the previous inning.

The late drama overshadowed a masterful start by Mulligan. The Holy Cross pitcher was nearly untouchable, throwing five no-hit innings. He walked none, struck out three and faced just one batter over the minimum. His effort set the tone and provided a crucial cushion. It marked a strong rebound from his last extended outing on March 29 against Lafayette, where he allowed three earned runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Holy Cross methodically built its lead against Bucknell starter Mikey Myro, who took the loss after allowing four earned runs on four hits over four innings. The Crusaders scratched out a run in the second on a sacrifice bunt by LaFleur, then added two more in the fourth on an RBI single by Nick Andersen and a wild pitch. They made it 4-0 later in the fourth on an RBI single by Braden Connors.

LaFleur extended the lead to 5-1 with a sacrifice bunt in the sixth and delivered the decisive blow in the seventh. With two outs and two on against reliever Dante Pavone, LaFleur laced a two-run single to center, scoring Alex Sandell and Ryan Grundy to push the Holy Cross advantage to 7-1. LaFleur finished 2 for 3.

Bucknell’s offense was silent until the seventh, when catcher Ty Lagoni led off the inning against Harding with a solo home run to break up the combined no-hit bid. The Bison managed just five hits total, with Chiaravallo’s two-run single in the eighth representing their biggest hit of the day.

Pavone and Frankie Bilecki provided strong relief for Bucknell, combining for three scoreless innings and allowing just one hit while striking out three.

The victory gave Holy Cross its second straight win in the series after a 14-5 triumph on Friday. The result defied the pregame projections from Interstat, whose game simulator had predicted a 7-6 Bucknell win and whose ELO system gave the Bison a 51.6% probability of victory.

The teams were set to conclude the doubleheader later Saturday.