EASTON, Pa. (Interstat) — Jaden Wywoda fired nine innings of no-hit baseball but the Holy Cross Crusaders needed two runs in the 13th inning to outlast the Lafayette Leopards 4-2 on Saturday afternoon at Kamine Stadium.

Wywoda struck out nine, walked one and yielded a single unearned run in a 112-pitch masterpiece. He did not factor in the decision after Lafayette tied the game in the 11th. Holy Cross improved to 21-25 overall, while Lafayette fell to 10-33.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the second, when Lafayette manufactured a run without a hit. Bode Fernsler drew a one-out walk, moved to third on a fly out and scored on Charlie Chropuvka’s sacrifice bunt to give the Leopards a 1-0 lead.

Holy Cross answered in the fifth. Colin Brown singled, Liam Daly reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second and scored on Owen Stelzer’s single to left to tie the game 1-1.

Both starting pitchers settled in after that. Wywoda allowed only the one base runner after the second inning, retiring 18 of the final 19 batters he faced. Lafayette starter Tristan Helmick worked eight innings, scattering four hits while striking out six and allowing one run.

The score remained tied until the 11th. Holy Cross broke through against reliever Owen Basso. Nick Andersen was hit by a pitch, advanced on a single by Brown and scored on Simon Landry’s single to right to give the Crusaders a 2-1 lead.

Lafayette answered immediately in the bottom of the inning. Teddy Cashman walked, Liam Ebbs was hit by a pitch and Luke Caucci sacrificed both runners into scoring position. Will Dobil then grounded out to first, allowing Cashman to score and tying the game 2-2.

The Crusaders took the lead for good in the 13th. With one out, Lucas Ametrano was hit by a pitch and Brown singled. Landry was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. Braden Pomponi relieved Basso, and Daly delivered a two-run single to right field, scoring Ametrano and Brown to make it 4-2.

Lafayette put two runners on in the bottom of the 13th against reliever Ethan Maddies, but Will Dobil grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game.

Holy Cross outhit Lafayette 10-5. Brown went 3 for 5 with two runs scored, and Stelzer finished 2 for 6 with an RBI. Daly drove in two runs on the decisive hit.

Lafayette’s bullpen struggled with control, issuing five hit batters and one walk over the final four innings. Basso took the loss after allowing three runs in 4 2/3 innings.

The game was the first of a three-game Patriot League series. The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader Sunday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Holy Cross 4, Lafayette 3, and its ELO system gave the Crusaders a 62.10 percent probability to win the game.