FERRIDAY — The Delta Charter School softball team exploded for 11 runs in the bottom of the first inning en route to breezing past Delhi Charter 19-4 in three innings Tuesday night.

The decisive win was the Lady Storm’s second game of the day, after they fell 9-1 earlier to Franklin Parish before rebounding strongly in the nightcap.

“Something like that (the 19-4 win) builds confidence level,” Delta Charter coach Jeannie Beach said. “Some people that never get to play got to play.”

The win over Delhi was Delta Charter’s second in consecutive days over their district rivals.

“I make sure we play with class,” Beach said. “I knew that game should only last three innings, but we still did it with class.”

The Lady Storm received a strong pitching performance from freshman pitcher Sydney Watts, who struck out five batters while allowing just two earned runs.

“I’m excited to see what she has in store (down the road),” Beach said. “She’s tall (5-foot-9), but I’m trying to get her to use her bottom half … I’m really looking forward to seeing what she could do.”

The two games wraps up Delta Charter’s inaugural season playing varsity softball, and the Lady Storm finished with a 12-11 overall record and a 5-1 mark in district play, strong enough to help the Lady Storm finish second in their district.

“It’s exciting,” Beach said. “To know it’s our first year (at the varsity) level, and we came in second, I’m pleased. We have had a great year.

Despite its stellar mark in district, Delta Charter is ineligible to play in the postseason due to serving a probation year before becoming eligible next season.

In Tuesday’s opener, Delta Charter competed strongly with the LHSAA Class 4A Lady Patriots, and appeared poised to grab the lead in the bottom of the fourth.

The Lady Storm managed to load the bases with nobody out, but was unable to score any runs.

“We left way too many people on base,” Beach said. “They got their hits, but we just couldn’t execute when we had people on base.

“This game gives us confidence that we can hang (with good teams).”

Franklin Parish scored two runs in the fifth, and added three runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh.

“The fifth inning is usually when (the action) happens,” Beach said. “It’s either going to be bad for us, bad for them or bad for both teams — that’s usually when the top of the order come up for the third time, and they’ve seen the pitcher for a third time.”

Delta Charter pitcher Jania Burns pitched strongly through the first four frames before running into trouble in the fifth. The junior right-handed hurler ended the game with seven strikeouts, including five through the first four innings.

“We just didn’t get the hits,” Beach said. “It’s disappointing, because I really thought we had a chance at winning that one.”