ST. LOUIS – Alex Nickel's two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh lifted Saint Louis to a 5-3 victory over Fordham Saturday afternoon in game one of an Atlantic 10 Conference doubleheader at the Billiken Sports Center.

Fordham won the nightcap 8-5.

Nickel's homer, her third of the season, was a blast to center field. Hailey Weavers, who ignited the rally with a one-out single, was on third base following a two-out steal and a throwing error on the catcher when Nickel ended the game.

Junior left-hander Brianna Lore (7-6) went the distance to pick up the victory and become SLU's all-time winningest pitcher. Lore has 46 career wins, eclipsing the record set by Nicole Bohnenstiehl (2001-03).

Fordham (12-11, 1-1 A-10) grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Saint Louis (16-9, 1-1 A-10) pulled even in the fourth on Alyssa Tarquinio's  second home run of the year, a three-run line shot to left field with two outs. Elizabeth Everingham and Allie Macfarlane singled in the inning.

Madeline Brungardt also had a hit for the Billikens in the opener.

Lore surrendered three hits and two walks in the first inning but allowed just three hits the rest of the way. Following a leadoff single in the Fordham third, she set down 15 of the final 16 batters she faced. Lore struck out eight.

In game two, Lindsay Friedman put Saint Louis on top in the third with a one-out solo shot, her team-leading seventh home run of the season. Macfarlane and Lore singled with two outs, and Tarquinio delivered an RBI single to make it 2-0.

Fordham plated a run in the fourth and scored twice in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead, but SLU tied it in the bottom of the fifth on back-to-back doubles by Macfarlane and Lore. However, the Rams struck for two runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh to make it an 8-3 game.

The Bills made it interesting in the bottom of the seventh. Friedman bunted for a hit with one out, her third hit of the game, and Everingham followed with her fifth homer of the season. Lore's two-out single put the potential tying run on deck, but the threat ended there.

Emma Buckles doubled in addition to making several sparkling plays in left field. Tarquinio added a single for a two-hit game, and Nickel also singled as the Billikens out-hit the Rams 13-11.