Inside the circle, Bettinelli (8-7) tossed 6 2/3 innings, giving up nine runs on nine hits while punching out five.

BROWN 8, SOFTBALL 6

The Crimson drew first blood, scoring a run in the top of the first when junior first baseman Cecily Gordon lined a double to left center, bringing home junior outfielder Lauren Stefanchik.

Not to succumb to hibernation, the Bears promptly roused in the bottom of the inning, swiping a 2-1 lead on a two-run home run from Leonetti.

Brown again got a boost from Leonetti, whose single though the middle in the third inning scored a pair and gave the Bears a 4-1 advantage.

“They just seemed to get all the timely hits,” co-captain and pitcher Kara Brotemarkle said. “The ball found the holes in the defense, when it wasn’t going over the fence, and that made a big difference in the outcome of the game.”

In the top of the fourth inning, Gordon led off with a double to center and Fritsch reached base after an error. Bettinelli singled to left to drive in Gordon, and the bases were cleared when sophomore catcher Erin Halpenny singled to right field and advanced on a throwing error by the right fielder. Junior shortstop Rachel Goldberg singled home Halpenny for the fourth run of the inning and a 5-4 lead.

The margin was expanded to 6-4 in the fifth, when Fritsch got belligerent, dropping a bomb over the outfield fence for her fourth home run of the year.

Brotemarkle and her defense were not able to hold the advantage, however, and Brown came back in the sixth.

After Wirkowski reached on an error and Courtney Jenkins singled to right, the Bears came within one on an RBI single from Melisssa Brown.

“We were hitting the ball well but weren’t getting those key plays on the field that we needed to win,” co-captain second baseman Sara Williamson said.

Uchenna Omokaro, the Brown starting pitcher, helped herself by singling through the left side, and put the Bears on top 7-6. Seid added the final run for the Bears with an RBI single.

“We laid it all out there and there was a lot of heart in all the games we played this weekend,” Brotemarkle said. “Sometimes things just don’t turn out the way you think they should.”

Bettinelli went 2-for-3 with an RBI, Gordon batted 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI, and Fritsch went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Brotemarkle had an off-day, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits in six innings of work. After allowing only 26 earned runs in her first 111 1/3 innings this year, the outpouring of runs lifted her ERA from 1.63 to 1.97 and leveled her record to 9-9.