Kinder’s Brianna Fontenot and Welsh’s Dane Iguess closed out their high school softball and baseball careers with stellar seasons to lead their teams deep into the playoffs.

They are the American Press All-Southwest Louisiana Small Schools MVPs.

Softball

Fontenot won her third All-Southwest MVP honor. She won her first as a freshman in 2022, and last season she was the Big Schools MVP when the Yellow Jackets were in Class 3A.

“From when the season started, till the end, she gave everything that she had even on her rough days,” Kinder head coach Sarah Chaney said. “When some games were on the line, coaches, as well as her teammates, had trust in her to do whatever she needed to do.”

Fontenot batted over .500 for a fourth time while striking out once in 87 plate appearances. The Purdue signee and prolific hitter had 24 extra-base hits, including seven home runs, and drove in 40 runs to push her career totals to 52 home runs and 204 RBIs. She led the Yellow Jackets to the quarterfinals for the second time in her career with 12 multi-hit games and 10 games with two or more RBI.

In the circle, she was equally feared with a 15-1 record and a 2.33 earned run average in 102 1/3 innings. She struck out 119 batters and walked 17. She pitched two no-hitters, including one against Oakdale on March 19 with 12 strikeouts.

She finished her high school career with 504 strikeouts and a 60-14 record in four seasons as a starter.

“Brianna has made such an impact on Kinder High softball since the beginning of her freshman year, coming in as a starter and learning and growing as a teammate, and also as a person and player,” Chaney said. “I wish her the best at Purdue and can’t wait to see what she accomplishes there.”

Baseball

Iguess headed up a strong senior class to lead the Greyhounds to the state tournament for the first time since 2019.

The 6-foot-2 southpaw went 9-1 in 12 starts on the mound and pitched five complete games. In 72 2/3 innings, he struck out 93 batters with 18 walks and a 1.80 ERA. Opponents struggled against him, batting .197.

“He had a great year,” Welsh head coach Caleb Hayes said. “I think it is going to go down as one of the best pitching years in school history. He is just a competitor.”

Iguess hit .330 as the Greyhounds’ leadoff batter with seven doubles, using speed to steal 20 of 21 bases and score 27 runs.

At the top of the order, he didn’t get many opportunities to drive in runs (8), but he came up big in the Non-select Division IV semifinals with a walk-off RBI hit in Welsh’s 8-7 eight-inning win over DeQuincy. Iguess was a defensive asset with a .902 fielding percentage.

In the postseason, Iguess went 2-0 with 25 strikeouts and seven walks in 18 innings and helped the Greyhounds get through the quarterfinals after losses in 2023 and ’24.

“He actually started in a quarterfinal game as a sophomore and junior and both of those didn’t go our way,” Hayes said. “It was kind of fitting that we rolled with him in the quarters and we leaned on him in the semifinals, and we got to the state championship game.”

Coaches

In his sixth season as head coach, Hayes, a former Greyhound standout, took Welsh back to the final for the first time since 2018. Welsh won two of its first seven games but turned things around to earn the No. 2 seed in Non-select Division IV and finish 23-11. The Greyhound lost to the four-time defending state champion, Oak Grove, in the final.

In her first season as head coach, Chaney helped her former high school break out of its regional round jinks and reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2022.

The Yellow Jackets lost in the regional round in 2023 and ’24 as a top-four seed. Kinder started the season 12-1 and finished 17-6. They bowed out of the playoffs to Non-select Division III runner-up Jena in the quarterfinals.

 

Small Schools

Baseball

Pos. Player, School Cl. Statistics

P Carson Rainwater, DeQuincy Sr. 9-4, 1.39 ERA, 116 Ks

P Gage Guidry, Vinton Jr. 6-2, 1.67 ERA, 108 Ks

P Cohen Cormier, Welsh Sr. 5-5, 2.50 ERA, 40 Ks

P Riddick Meaux, Kinder Jr. 5-1, 1.60 ERA, 30 Ks

C Andrew Dowden, DeQuincy Sr. .486 avg., 3 HR, 50 RBIs

INF Cameron Bonin, Lake Arthur Jr. .458 avg., 17 RBIs, 19 runs

INF Rylan Young, Grand Lake Sr. .455 avg., 38 RBIs/8-0, 55 Ks, 1.50 ERA

INF Connor Courmier, Vinton Sr. .350 avg., 13 RBIs, 12 runs

INF Gabriel McKee, Rosepine Sr. .379 avg., 24 RBIs, 35 runs

OF Dane Iguess, Welsh Sr. .330 avg./9-1, 93 Ks, 1.80 ERA

OF Blaze Brister, Merryville Jr. .395 avg., 12 RBIs, 15 runs

OF Turner Rodriguez, DeQuincy Jr. .400 avg., 35 RBIs / 7-2, 74 Ks

UT Layne Bageux, Lacassine Jr. .371 avg., 3 HR, 29 RBIs

UT Law Faulk, Grand Lake Fr. .484 avg., 25 RBIs/ 5-0, 1.10 ERA

UT Braeden Strother, Oakdale Sr. 5-3, 2.07 ERA, 45 Ks/ .273 avg.

UT Hunter Broussard, Reeves So. .362 avg., 20 RBIs, 31 runs

UT Madden Spicer, Hackberry Fr. .278 avg., 21 RBIs/4-3, 60k

MVP — Dane Iguess, Welsh

COACH OF THE YEAR — Caleb Hayes, Welsh

Softball

Pos. Player, School Cl. Statistics

P Ainslie Willis, Oakdale Jr. 10-5, 3.12 ERA, 97 Ks

P Brianna Fontenot, Kinder Sr. 15-1, 2.33 ERA, 119 Ks

P Marli Jones, Rosepine So. 13-6, 3.60 ERA, 142 Ks

P Maddie Vinatieri, DeQuincy So. 14-11, 3.80 ERA, 172 Ks

C Aubrey May, Kinder Jr. .419 avg., 12 doubles, 22 RBIs

INF Alaina Bearb, Grand Lake Jr. .352 avg., 37 runs, 16 SB

INF Analeigh Roberts, Rosepine Jr. .378 avg., 8 HR, 26 RBIs

INF Aubrie Richard, Bell City Jr. .364 avg., 6 doubles, 14 RBIs

INF Shay Lott, Merryville Sr. .477 avg., 37 SB, 18 RBIs

OF Layla Gauthier, Lake Arthur Sr. .529 avg., 13 RBIs

OF Reesie Jinks, Fairview Sr. .646 avg., 25 runs, 32 SB

OF Onnie Remedies, DeQuincy Fr. .411 avg., 34 RBIs, 12 SB

UT Madelyn Nolen, Starks Sr. 12-6, 113 Ks/ .570 avg., 38 RBIs

UT Jolie Gary, Vinton Sr. .551 avg., 6 HR, 33 RBIs/ 982/3 IP, 116 Ks

UT Addison Hollier, Lacassine So. .490 avg., 22 RBIs, 20 runs

UT Jolie West, Oakdale Sr. .565 avg., .643 OBP, 27 RBIs

UT Maggie Johnson, Welsh Sr. .407 avg., 16 RBIs, 25 runs

MVP — Brianna Fontenot, Kinder

COACH OF THE YEAR — Sarah Chaney, Kinder