Delta Charter takes down district rival Beekman Charter, 7-6

Published 12:00 am Thursday, March 30, 2017

Jacob Spinks took two steps to his right to snare a two out, line drive in the top of the seventh inning to help Delta Charter School secure a 7-6 win over District 2-1A rival Beekman Charter Wednesday.

“We’ll take it,” DCS coach Jarrett Hoffpauir said. “I’m proud of our guys for sticking with it.”

Delta Charter pounded out six hits, including a solo home run from third baseman Drake Smith in the bottom of the sixth that gave his team a two-run lead.

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“It was amazing,” Smith said of his second homer of the year. “There’s no other way to explain it. Coach told us before the inning to get some insurance runs … I did my job.”

The win gives the No. 14 Storm (8-9, 2-2) back-to-back wins over the No. 6 ranked Tigers in the latest LHSAA Class 1A power rankings. DCS topped BCS 5-4 on Tuesday.

“We knew coming in that it wasn’t a team we could lay down for; they can play some ball,” Smith said. “We beat them yesterday, and that gave us some momentum for today. Coach told us to learn from yesterday and don’t make the  same mistakes, and we did that.”

Lee Lancaster pitched into the sixth for DCS, but was moved to shortstop because of an injury sustained earlier in the game. The lanky senior right-hander finished with four strikeouts, allowing five hits and five runs. Trenton Miller closed the win out for the Storm, tossing two relief innings.

“Lee got banged up in the third inning, hurt his hand, but he battled and got us into the sixth,” Hoffpauir said. “That’s the bulldog that he is. Whatever he does, we kind of follow his lead. He got us through it, and Trenton came in and shut the door for us.”

Delta Charter jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one inning, with Spinks capping the rally off with a two-run single to right field.

Beekman Charter came back to tie it in the third, but DCS responded with a solo run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to build its advantage back up to three. Spinks added to his stellar day with a run-scoring double in the frame.

Freddie Mango drove in two runs for DCS, while Trey Poole added a double.

“(The hitting) is getting there; we’re starting to understand our approaches,” Hoffpauir said. “We’re staying short to the ball and not trying to do too much, and we’re seeing some results.”

Delta Charter will attempt to keep the momentum going next Tuesday when it hosts St. Frederick.