TROY, Ala. – After going down, 1-0, in the bottom of the first, No. 22 University of South Alabama softball scored four unanswered runs over the next five innings to defeat Troy, 4-1, on Sunday and conclude the 2015 regular season by claiming its sixth Sun Belt Conference series.
 
USA (35-10, 16-4 SBC) won game two on Saturday, 2-0, on senior shortstop Kaitlyn Griffith's 12^th home run of the year, a two-run shot that set a new Jaguar standard in homers in a season. Troy took game one of the series, 6-3.
 
Jaguar senior first baseman Amanda Herron went 2-for-3 with an RBI and her 15^th double of the year, which ties Tara Donaldson's 2007 mark for the most in a single season at USA.
 
South Alabama junior catcher Stephanie Pilkington and sophomore designated player Chloe Rathburn extended their reached-base streaks to 13 games apiece, as the former went 2-for-4 and the latter drew a walk. Junior third baseman Emily Messer and freshman right fielder Haleigh Lowe each batted 1-for-3 with an RBI, while sophomore centerfielder Amanda Minahan supplied a hit and RBI.
 
Freshman right-hander Kalen McGill (16-2) recorded her second complete-game victory of the series, allowing only one run (unearned), while scattering nine hits and striking out five to one walk.

Troy senior right-hander Jaycee Affeldt (17-10) suffered the loss after giving up four runs (three earned) on seven hits with five strikeouts and walks.
 
"We worked incredibly hard at the plate today," said USA head coach Becky Clark. "Affeldt made us earn every single at-bat, and I thought we did a great job of grinding out those at-bats.
 
"[McGill] did a great job of throwing strikes and getting out of tough situations, and our defense played great behind her," Clark added. "I thought today was a great team win and a great one for us going into the conference tournament."
 
Trojan leadoff Kate Benton put Troy ahead, 1-0, in the bottom of the first when she got on with an infield single and eventually scored on a play in which Messer overthrew Herron at first, and the ball trickled down the right field line.
 
Griffith, after drawing a leadoff walk in the top of the second, scored on Herron's doubled to right field, which tied the program's single-season record and the game, 1-1.
 
Herron drew a one-out walk in the top of the fourth, with senior Gwen Jones coming on to pinch run for her. Minahan then singled and advanced to second on a throw to home plate to put two in scoring position for Lowe, who grounded out to second to allow Jones to score and put USA ahead, 2-1.
 
Messer followed with an infield base hit to plate Minahan and give the Jags a two-run advantage.
 
McGill then worked out of a pair of jams which stranded a pair of Troy runners on across the next two frames before South Alabama added an insurance run in the top of the sixth.
 
After senior left fielder Blair Johnson reached on a leadoff Troy fielding error, the Kimberly, Ala., native scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Minahan to extend USA's lead to 4-1.
 
After back-to-back one-out Trojan singles in the bottom of the seventh, a Jaguar double play capped the contest when Minahan reeled in a shallow fly ball and threw to second for a game-ending force
out.
 
South Alabama will be a two seed in the 2015 SBC Tournament, which takes place May 6-9 in San Marcos, Texas. Final seeding will be announced later tonight.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).