South Alabama used a six-run third inning and a shutdown effort from its bullpen to beat Troy 9-4 at Stanky Field on Sunday and secure its fifth straight Sun Belt Conference series win.

The Jaguars (23-21, 11-10 Sun Belt) won two of three in the series after splitting a doubleheader on Friday, and have won 10 of their last 15 Sun Belt games after starting the conference season 1-5. Meanwhile, Troy (30-15, 11-10) saw a string of three consecutive winning weekends end.

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“This was super-big,” said South Alabama center fielder Will Turner, who went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored Sunday. “We’ve got kind of a gantlet the next two weeks with Southern Miss and Coastal (Carolina), so this was a good way to help jump-start that, to help us make a push for the postseason.”

South Alabama broke open a 1-1 game in the third, scoring all six of its runs with two outs. The rally began when Tyler Borges hit a bouncer to third base, where Troy’s Caleb Bartolero booted the ball and JG Bell scored the go-ahead run.

The Jaguars were far from done, however. After Diego Altamirano was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Austin Thrasher lined a 3-2 pitch from Troy starter Logan Ross between third and shortstop for a 2-run single and a 4-1 South Alabama lead.

Jaguars first baseman Micah Morgan followed by lofting the first pitch he saw over the right-field wall for a three-run homer, putting South Alabama up 7-1. Morgan’s homer was his second of the season.

“We practice that, two-out hits, just trying to put the other team away,” Turner said. “We did a good job of executing it today.”

South Alabama starter Jeremy Lee allowed two runs in the fourth on Clay Stearns’ RBI double and Kole Myers’ RBI single, to make it 7-3. Lee then put two runners on with one out in the fifth, leading to Calvi to call for his bullpen.

Zach Willingham got the second out, then walked a man to load the bases. That brought on Caden Homniok, who retired pinch-hitter Parker Sessions on a grounder to third to end the inning with the Jaguars still up by four.

Homniok — a redshirt sophomore who missed all of last season and the first two months this year following three rounds of elbow surgery — largely shut the Trojans down after that, retiring eight of nine at one point before tiring in the eighth. The lone run he allowed in 2 2/3 innings came on a seventh-inning solo home run Shane Lewis, the Sun Belt leader with 21 four-baggers this season.

Colson Lawrence replaced Homniok with two on and one out in the eighth, with the Jaguars leading 9-4. He got Myers to ground into a fielder’s choice, then struck out four straight to end the game.

“I thought our pitchers were excellent today,” Calvi said. “With Jeremy, we had a 15-20 mph wind blowing out to right, and that affects his curveball a little bit. I don’t think he had his best stuff, but he gutted it out.

“Willingham was huge coming in, in a jam. And then Caden Homniok, he just keeps getting stronger and stronger; it’s great to have him back. Colson Lawrence was fantastic, closing it out.”

Troy broke on top in the first, with Lewis drawing a two-out walk and William Sullivan tripling into the right-field corner to make it 1-0. South Alabama tied it in the bottom of the inning after loading the bases with no outs, with Trey Lewis’ RBI grounder driving in the lone run.

South Alabama added single runs in the fourth on Borges’ bases-loaded walk and fifth on Bell’s RBI double. The Jaguars totaled 12 hits, three by Turner and two each by Bell and Morgan.

Homniok (1-0) was credited with the win in relief of Lee, who allowed three runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. Ross (2-1) suffered the loss, with only one earned run among the eight he surrendered in 3 1/3 innings.

“I’m pleased with the series win,” Calvi said. “We left too many men on base; today was another one of those days. … Bottom part of the order, five RBIs between (Thrasher) and Micah Morgan, that was huge. Just proud of our guys’ effort to win a series against a really good team.”

South Alabama does not play a midweek game next week, traveling to Southern Miss for a 3-game Sun Belt series beginning Friday. Troy is home for its next four games, one vs. Jacksonville State on Tuesday and three vs. Georgia Southern beginning Friday.