DES MOINES, IOWA - The Drake University softball team topped Iowa State 5-2 Thursday afternoon at Buel Field. A four-run first inning, highlighted by Back-to-back home runs by freshman Lindsey Vande Wall and junior Erin Bly, gave Drake a lead it never surrendered.

Vande Wall (Prairie City, Iowa) finished the game 2-for-4 and fell just a few feet short of a two-homer day when her sixth-inning fly to center was caught for an out. Bly (Frankfort, Ill.) finished the game 1-for-3.

Junior Erin Mollohan (Tinley Park, Ill.) and senior Bridget Shields (Iowa City, Iowa) also scored runs in the first inning.

A four run lead was enough for junior starter Jenna DeLong (Dalton Gardens, Idaho), who allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out seven in the complete game victory. The win put her record at 11-5 on the season.

Drake added to its lead in the fifth when Senior Kelsey Kahler (North Liberty, Iowa) scored on freshman Macie Silliman's (Winterset, Iowa) RBI single to left.

The win put Drake at 22-10 on the season.

The Bulldogs travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa to take on UNI in a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series starting with a Saturday doubleheader. First pitch is at noon.