The first five innings of game one presented a pitcher’s duel. Brown returned to form after a shaky outing Tuesday, surrendering only one hit and no runs in the first five frames. The Crimson offense generated baserunners but no runs thanks to seven stranded runners in five innings.

The Big Red broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth with a Linda Laeufer homer that gave Cornell a 2-0 lead.

But then Harvard’s offense finally broke through. In the top of the seventh with two runners on, sophomore Kasey Lange doubled to left center, bringing both runners home and tying the game. In the bottom of the seventh, Brown surrendered a double but nothing more, sending the game into extra innings.

“We had been battling and had runners on early in the game; we just weren’t coming up with timely hits,” Allard said. “We knew we would get to the point where we would score. It was just unfortunate that it didn’t come until the seventh inning.”

With two runners on again in the top of the eighth, freshman Katherine Appelbe gave the Crimson its first lead of the game on a one-run single. In the next at-bat, Alexander put the game out of reach with a three-run home run that extended the lead to 6-2.

Brown took care of business in the bottom of the eighth to seal the victory. In her complete-game win, the senior fanned 13 batters.

—Staff writer Jacob D. H. Feldman can be reached at jacobfeldman@college.harvard.edu.