MONROE, La. (Interstat) — Seaver Sheets dominated over five shutout innings and the Louisiana-Monroe offense erupted for two big innings, powering the Warhawks to a 12-0 victory over the Alcorn State Braves in a non-conference baseball game Wednesday at Warhawk Field.

The game was never in doubt as Louisiana-Monroe scored early and often, while Alcorn State mustered only one hit — a sixth-inning single by pinch-hitter Adrian Vallescorbo — and never advanced a runner past first base.

Sheets, the Warhawks’ starting pitcher, was the catalyst for the lopsided win. He allowed just that one hit, a single that did not come until after he had exited the game, while striking out two and walking none over five scoreless frames. He faced the minimum through four innings, aided by a pickoff in the first and a double play in the sixth after his departure. His performance set the tone, stifling any hope of an Alcorn State rally and lowering his ERA to 0.00 over his last two appearances.

The most important sequence of the game came in the bottom of the fourth inning, which broke the contest open. Leading 4-0, the Warhawks loaded the bases with one out against Braves reliever Garrett Oswald. After a pitching change to Hunter Bell, third baseman Jake Haggard stepped in and launched a three-run homer to left field, his second of the season, to extend the lead to 8-0. The blast capped a four-run inning and effectively put the game out of reach.

Louisiana-Monroe was not done. In the sixth inning, they put the game away for good. After loading the bases with no outs, first baseman Jackson Landry connected for a grand slam to deep left field, his first home run of the year, plating four runs to provide the final 12-0 margin. Landry and Haggard each drove in four runs to lead the Warhawks’ 13-hit attack. Center fielder Davis Mauzy added two hits and two RBIs.

The Warhawks scored in three of their six offensive innings. They took a 1-0 lead in the first on a sacrifice fly by Haggard, then added three more in the second on an RBI single by Zach White and a sacrifice fly by Mauzy. The two sacrifice flies were part of a small-ball approach that complemented the power display later.

Alcorn State used seven pitchers in the loss. Starter Devin Kriley was charged with one run without recording an out. Relievers Myles Dews and Jose Cherena each provided a scoreless inning of relief for the Braves, but the early damage was too severe to overcome. The Braves’ only baserunner against Sheets came on a first-inning hit-by-pitch, and that runner was promptly picked off first base.

With the win, Louisiana-Monroe evened its season record at 5-5. The Warhawks have won two straight, outscoring opponents 31-9 in those games. Alcorn State fell to 1-7 with its fifth consecutive loss, a skid during which it has been outscored 68-6.

The game defied the pregame projection from Interstat, which had forecast a 4-1 Warhawks victory. The simulator vastly underestimated the Louisiana-Monroe offensive outburst, though its ELO rating system had given the Warhawks a 92.8% probability to win.

Louisiana-Monroe opens a three-game home series against Western Illinois on Friday. Alcorn State travels to face rival Jackson State on Friday before heading to a neutral-site tournament in Jackson, Mississippi.