The momentum of two victories over ranked teams last week was erased as quickly as it was generated. After falling in the final two games of a weekend series to Louisiana-Lafayette, Troy’s softball team was defeated, 6-3, by Sun Belt Conference foe South Alabama on Wednesday.

The Trojans (20-10) fall to 2-5 in conference play and are left searching for answers.

“We’re not where we want to be (standings) right now,” head coach Melanie Davis said. “There is still a lot of softball out there. We’re just going to scratch and claw out way back.”

Troy took an early lead on Hayden Gann’s RBI double in the first inning. South Alabama would tie things up in the third on a sacrifice fly. The Trojans quickly regained the lead in the bottom half.

Hannah Renn led off with a single and immediately stole second. After Kelly Luquette executed on a sacrifice bunt, moving Renn to third, Nikki Hollett drove a fastball high and deep into centerfield. The ball was caught but proved deep enough to score Renn.

Gann would rope a solo homerun to left to give Troy the 3-1 advantage.

South Alabama would chip away at Troy starter Ashley Rainey, scoring runs in the fourth and sixth.

Davis said she resisted pulling Rainey (10-5) in hopes that the freshman would push through the fatigue. That would not be the case as Rainey surrendered three runs in the seventh to seal the game for the Jaguars.

“South Alabama hit the ball as well as I’ve ever seen,” Davis said. “I think fatigue was a factor for Rainey. Hindsight is always 20/20, but I think she did a good job overall.”

The Jaguars pounded out 11 hits on the night, which marked the most allowed by Rainey this season.

Troy will have an opportunity to rebound as Florida International visits the Troy Softball Complex. The three-game series is set to begin Saturday with a doubleheader scheduled for 1p.m.