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The Troy Trojans (16-9, 3-3) lost two of its three matchups with rival South Alabama Jaguars (14-10, 2-4) in a Sun Belt Conference baseball series this weekend.

Troy dropped game one on March 22 by a score of 12-8. The pair went into the ninth inning with USA holding a 7-6 lead but the Jags exploded to score five runs to go up 12-6. Troy tried to rally but could only muster two more runs before South Alabama secured the series-opening win.

Blake Sutton went 2-for-4 at the plate for Troy with a home run, two RBIs and two runs, while Kole Myers went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run and Ethan Kavanagh went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and a run. Opelika native Brooks Bryan also hit a homer for the Trojans. Logan Ross took the loss on the mound, striking out two batters and giving up two hits and three earned runs in one inning pitched. Garrett Gainous struck out seven batters and gave up two hits and two earned runs in three and 1/3 innings pitched, while Jay Dill struck out six batters and gave up one hit and three earned runs in three and 2/3 innings.

Joseph Sullivan went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Jags with a home run, three RBIs and three runs. Carson Swilling got the win on the mound, striking out eight and giving up five hits and three earned runs in six innings pitched.

South Alabama secured the series win on March 23 with a 10-8 victory over the Trojans as the Jaguars hit four home runs on the day.

Troy was led at the plate by Myers, who went 4-for-5 with a double, one RBI and two runs, while Kavanagh went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run. Kyle Mock went 3-for-4 with a double and a run. Clete Hartzog took the loss on the mound, striking out three batters and giving up four hits and three earned runs in two innings. Kristian Asbury struck out five and gave up three hits and no earned runs in his two and 1/3 innings pitched.

For South Alabama, Brennan Holt went 3-for-5 with a double, a homer, three RBIs and two runs. Cam Hill got the win at pitcher, striking out four and giving up eight hits and five earned runs in five and 1/3 innings.

While Troy couldn’t retake the series, the Trojans managed to close things out with a win on March 24 by a score of 4-3.

In a dominant pitching duel, Myers led Troy at the plate going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Noah Manning got the win on the mound, striking out a pair of batters and giving up four hits and one earned run in four innings. Brady Fuller also pitched four and 1/3 innings and fanned two batters, while giving up no hits or runs.

Will Turner went 2-for-5 for South Alabama with a double and a run. Cooper Cooksey took the loss on the mound, striking out four and giving up two hits and two earned runs in two innings.

“You want to get leveled out in the league and want to meet a standard. I thought, for the most part, we pitched to that standard, and we did many things well,” Troy Coach Skylar Meade said. “South did a great job, and their game plan was solid to keep our offense at bay. We took good swings, but they executed from the mound. Thankfully, we were clean, defensively and executed. This was just a really tough, gritty win by our guys. And I expected nothing less from our guys. It was tight all the way through, and both teams had an opportunity. Just happy we came out on top at the end.”

Troy is back at home on March 26 for a matchup with Florida A&M at 3:33 p.m. before traveling to Southern Miss for a weekend series March 28-30.