WASHINGTON – Brianna Lore tossed a three-hitter and clubbed her third home run of the season to lead Saint Louis to a 5-1 victory over George Washington in game one of an Atlantic 10 Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon.
George Washington won game two 10-1 in five innings.
Lore (12-7) allowed no earned runs and struck out eight, tying her season high in an A-10 game.
The Billikens (25-13, 9-4 A-10) scored a two-out run in the first inning. Elizabeth Everingham doubled, then scored when the GW first baseman mishandled Allie Macfarlane's ground ball.
The Colonials (19-17, 3-8 A-10) tied it in the bottom half of the inning, but that was all Lore allowed.
Saint Louis regained the lead in the third. Alex Nickel drew a leadoff walk and moved to third on Lindsay Friedman's single. Friedman stole second, and with one out, Macfarlane delivered a two-run double.
Lore's homer, a solo shot, came with one out in the fifth. The Bills tacked on a run in the sixth on Nickel's double that followed singles by Emma Buckles and Josie Knesel.
George Washington had runners at second and third with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh. But Lore squelched the rally with two strikeouts and a fly ball.
Nickel and Buckles added a single apiece to record two-hit games.
In the nightcap, GW scored five times in the first inning and never looked back. The Colonials added two runs in the second and three in the fourth.
SLU tallied its only marker in the third. Nickel led off with a walk and advanced to second on Everingham's one-out single. Macfarlane's single plated Nickel.
The teams play the rubber game of the series Sunday at 11 a.m. (CT).