ST. LOUIS – Senior Mariah McKinnon (Oxford, Iowa) pitched seven innings strong innings and sophomores Tasha Alexander (Eddyville, Iowa) and Kailee Smith (Murrieta, Calif.) each hit home runs to help the Drake University softball team top Saint Louis, 6-2, on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Drake (9-9) trailed 1-0 in the second inning until Smith tied the game at 1-1 with her second career home run, a solo shot. Three innings later, Alexander launched her fourth home run of the season, a two-run blast, to give Drake a 3-1 lead. Later in the inning, the Bulldogs padded their advantage to 5-2 with RBI singles from junior Kaitlyn Finneran (Morrison, Ill.) and freshman Taryn Pena (Columbia, Ill.).
 
Saint Louis (8-11) scored one run in the bottom of the fifth, but McKinnon got the next two Billikens out to escape further damage.
 
Freshman Gabbie Jonas (Omaha, Neb.) drove in the final run of the afternoon in the seventh. McKinnon then worked around a two-out walk in the bottom of the inning to earn her second win of the season improving to 2-4.
 
McKinnon allowed two runs on six hits with two walks and one strikeout. Freshman Kennedy Frank (Chesterfield, Mo.) and Smith led the offense with three hits each.
 
Drake plays at SIUE on Wednesday afternoon with first pitch against the Cougars scheduled for 3 p.m.