BOONE, N.C. (Interstat) — The Appalachian State Mountaineers broke open a tight Sun Belt Conference game with a six-run seventh inning, powering past the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks 12-4 on Sunday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.

The victory gave Appalachian State (18-15, 3-3) the series win after the teams split the first two games. Louisiana-Monroe fell to 20-17 overall and 4-5 in conference play.

The game’s decisive turn came in the bottom of the seventh. Leading 6-4, the Mountaineers sent 13 batters to the plate, capitalizing on walks, hit batters and timely hitting to pull away. The inning featured two of Appalachian State’s three sacrifice flies, including one by Jonathan Xuereb, and a key two-out, run-scoring triple by Charlie Evans that ignited the rally. Evans finished 3 for 4 with two RBIs.

The offensive outburst made a winner of starter Tanner Nolan, who delivered a crucial performance for the Mountaineers. After a rough outing in his previous start, Nolan (2-2) steadied himself following a rocky first inning to work six strong frames, allowing three hits and two earned runs while striking out three. His effort provided stability after Appalachian State’s bullpen was taxed in Saturday’s high-scoring loss.

Louisiana-Monroe struck first, pushing across four runs in the opening inning against Nolan. Jake Haggard singled and later scored on an RBI double by Marcus Aranda. The Warhawks, however, would manage only three more hits the rest of the way.

Appalachian State immediately answered with two runs in the bottom of the first on a wild pitch and Xuereb’s first sacrifice fly. They then seized the lead for good with a four-run third inning, highlighted by a two-run double from Jake Mummau, who drove in three runs total, and an RBI single from Evans.

Haggard provided a brief spark for the Warhawks with a solo home run in the sixth inning, his second hit of the day, to cut the deficit to 6-3. Louisiana-Monroe added an unearned run in the seventh on a fielder’s choice and a subsequent error, closing to within 6-4 before the Mountaineers’ explosive response.

Caleb Strmiska was a bright spot for the Warhawks’ bullpen, throwing 2 2/3 innings of hitless relief with one strikeout after entering in the third. The Mountaineers used six relievers to secure the final three innings, with Jordan Fisher pitching a perfect ninth.

The result flipped the script from the Interstat game simulator, which had projected a closer 8-5 Appalachian State win. The Mountaineers’ 10-hit attack and disciplined approach, drawing 11 walks and three hit-by-pitches, proved too much for a Warhawks staff that used eight pitchers.

Louisiana-Monroe returns home to face Arkansas State in a three-game series starting Friday. Appalachian State travels to face Western Carolina on Tuesday before a conference series at James Madison.