The No. 15 Troy Trojans (34-14, 15-8) looked to be on the verge of losing their first Sun Belt Conference series of the season on Sunday to rival South Alabama Jaguars (19-26, 8-15) but a ninth inning grand slam home run from Sean Darnell changed those fortunes.

With the 2-1 series win over South Alabama, Troy remains the only SBC team to win every single conference series this season and is now the only team in the entire country to win every conference series. Coming into the weekend, No. 1 Texas was the only other team in the country to hold that distinction, but the Longhorns were swept by Arkansas. Troy has also won every series its played in this season, including non-conference series wins over Bellarmine, Northwestern State, Penn, and USC Upstate.

Troy took a series lead with a 5-2 win in game one on May 2. Gavin Schrader led Troy at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Dillon Kuehl drove in two runs. Noah Thigpen (2-1) got the win on the mound, striking out five batters and giving up six hits and two earned runs in five innings pitched. Jay Dill also grabbed his first save of the season, striking out five batters and giving up just one hit and no runs in two innings of work. Blake Cavill tallied eight putouts and no fielding errors.

South Alabama tied the series with an 11-7 win on May 3. Sean Darnell went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and one run, while Cavill hit a home run. Noah Edders (5-1) took his first loss of the season on the mound, striking out five batters and giving up two hits and three earned runs in two and 2/3 innings pitched. Grayson Stewart struck out five and gave up five hits and five earned runs in two and 1/3 innings pitched. Cavill earned five putouts and an assist with no errors.

In game three on Sunday, Troy jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning off a Shane Lewis solo homer, but South Alabama answered by scoring three straight runs and taking a 3-1 lead into the seventh inning. In the seventh, Troy’s Jimmy Janicki hit an RBI single up center field that drove Perryn Bland in to cut the lead to 3-2.

South Alabama maintained that lead going into the ninth when Darnell, with the bases loaded, blasted a grand-slam homer to put Troy up 6-3. South answered, facing two outs, with a two-run home run of its own in the bottom of the ninth to cut the Trojan lead to 6-5. With the tying run on third, Colby Frieda entered the game and struck out the final out to secure the series win for the Trojans.

Markham went 3-for-5 at the plate for Troy with a run, while Janicki went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Lewis went 2-for-4 with a homer, an RBI and a run, while Darnell hit the grand slam.

Dill (3-1) got the win, striking out four batters and giving up three hits and two earned runs in two and 2/3 innings pitched. Luke Lyon also struck out five and gave up five hits and three earned runs in six innings on the mound.

Troy returns to Riddle-Pace Field on May 6 to face off against in-state foe Alabama at 6 p.m. followed by another non-conference game against Samford on the road on May 7 at 6 p.m.