ST. LOUIS – Allie Macfarlane hit her sixth home run of the season and drove in three runs to lift Saint Louis to an 8-5 victory over George Mason in game one of an Atlantic 10 Conference doubleheader Saturday at the Billiken Sports Center.
George Mason won the nightcap 6-5.
Elizabeth Everingham matched Macfarlane with two hits and recorded a pair of RBIs. Starting pitcher Brianna Lore improved to 8-7, and reliever Laney Kneib pitched the final two innings to collect her fourth save.
The Billikens (19-11, 4-3 A-10) scored twice in the first inning. Lindsay Friedman drew a one-out walk, stole second and moved to third on a passed ball. Walks to Everingham and Macfarlane loaded the bases, and a free pass to Lore plated Friedman. Alyssa Tarquinio's ground ball scored Everingham.
SLU made it 4-0 in the second. Leadoff hitter Josie Knesel walked and advanced to third on Alex Nickel's sacrifice and a passed ball. Knesel scored on Everingham's double, and Macfarlane's single drove in Everingham.
George Mason (9-15, 3-2 A-10) cut the lead in half in the fourth, but Saint Louis got those runs back in the bottom of the inning. Friedman followed Nickel's one-out infield single with a triple and scored on Everingham's single.
After the Patriots narrowed the gap to 6-4 with two tallies in the fifth, the Billikens re-established a four-run margin in the sixth. Everingham was hit by a pitch with two away, and Macfarlane followed with a two-run blast to right center.
Mason scored once in the seventh and had the potential tying run at the plate, but Kneib shut the door.
In game two, SLU answered Mason's first-inning run with two of its own. Nickel led off with a double and scored on Friedman's single. Friedman stole second and advanced to third on Everingham's ground ball. After Macfarlane walked, Friedman scored on Lore's ground ball.
The Billikens made it 4-1 in the third. A walk to Friedman, Everingham's single and a walk to Macfarlane loaded the bases with nobody out. A ground ball by Lore plated Friedman, and Everingham scored on Tarquinio's sacrifice fly.
Mason drew closer with two runs in the fourth before grabbing a 6-4 lead on a fifth-inning three-run home run. The Billikens closed the gap to a single tally in the fifth as Friedman, who was hit by a pitch leading off, scored on another ground ball off the bat of Lore.
The Bills threatened in the sixth and seventh but could not push across an equalizer.
Tarquinio doubled twice for the Billikens, who host George Mason in the rubber game of the series Sunday. Game time is 11 a.m., an hour earlier than the originally scheduled noon first pitch.
