DeQUINCY — Kinder got out of a big second-inning jam Tuesday in its District 5-2A game against DeQuincy to win a 7-1 battle of top-five teams.

Kinder (25-5, 6-1) was up 4-1, but the Tigers (17-9, 5-3) loaded the bases with no outs. But freshman pitcher Bri Fontenot struck out the next two batters and snagged a line drive to end the threat.

“That was huge,” Kinder head coach Haley Landry said. “We have a lot of confidence in our pitcher.

“We know we are never out of it. Our defense does a great job of not being panicked in those situations. That is where we see our leadership step up and keep things under control when we get in those situations.”

Fontenot struck out 12 and walked three while pitching a complete game for the No. 4 Yellow Jackets.

“She was great,” Landry said. “She looks like a veteran out there more than she doesn’t.

“When she has some run support, she pitches with a lot of confidence, and she is confident in her defense behind her. When she is on, she is tough to face.”

Kinder did all of its scoring in three innings with big hits. Megan Fuselier hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning for a 6-1 lead and an RBI triple in the second inning. Asia Richard went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in the seventh inning. Fuselier and Richard combined to score five of Kinder’s seven runs.

“We only scored in three innings, and that is a little bit out of our ordinary,” Landry said. “But when you can group them together like that and play tough defense behind your pitcher, you can have nights like that where you only score in a couple of innings out of the seven.”

DeQuincy opened strong with Adah Doucet’s leadoff double. Doucet scored on a triple to right field by Baileigh Kellogg.

“You can’t win against quality teams leaving 13 on,” DeQuincy head coach Matt Gallien said. “They played the game hard and did the deal on defense.

“We just can’t leave those on as we get in the playoffs. We have to come up with timely hits.”

The Tigers entered the game ranked No. 5 in Class 2A, and Gallien said he’s looking for his team to finish strong with the playoffs approaching.

“I love this group. I have 10 juniors, most of my starting lineup,” he said.