HAMMOND, La. – In a college baseball season that starred strong pitching across the nation, the Southeastern Louisiana University pitching staff shone brightly in 2012. Head coach Jay Artigues and his staff will ask the same again this season.

Southeastern finished third in the Southland Conference with a 3.48 team ERA last season while allowing the fewest hits of any staff in the conference.

Headlining the stellar group of returning players is a stable of pitchers led by Southland Conference Freshman of the Year Andro Cutura (6-1, 3.30 earned run average), senior left-hander Jordan Hymel (6-3, 2.65 earned run average) and preseason first-team All-Southland Conference reliever Dylan Hills (9-4, two saves, 1.64 earned run average).

The Lions will need to replace Stefan Lopez, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Stopper of the Year. Lopez, the school's single-season and career saves leader, recorded a 2-1 win-loss record with a sparkling 0.61 earned run average and nation-leading 20 saves. Lopez was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 16th-round of the MLB Draft.

Hills is already on the stopper watch list for 2103 as Southeastern attempts to earn back-to-back awards.

On the mound Cutura, Hills and Hymel will be joined by a host of talented returners and newcomers to form one of the deepest pitching staffs in Lion history.

Buck Bernard, Jason Greenleaf, Kyle Keller, Sean Kennel, Kaleb Manuel, Matt Pittari and Tanner Rainey return in 2013 for the Lions. The coaching staff added Brennan Catalano, Kyle Cedotal, Gavin Culpepper, John Gremillion, Mason Klotz, Logan Riddell, Tate Scioneaux and Gabe Von Rosenberg to the mix.

Bernard saw time as a starter both mid-week and during Southland play last season. The senior left-hander from Petal, Miss., compiled a 2-2 record with a 3.68 ERA in 44 innings pitched.

Greenleaf has spent the last two seasons as one of the Lion's most dependable relievers. Last season the redshirt-junior from Covington, La., appeared in 26 games and worked 51.2 innings with a 2.44 ERA.

Keller earned a win in his only start as a freshman. The Jesuit graduate worked 11.1 innings in his initial season. Kennel worked 7.1 innings, mostly in relief last season. The junior from Slidell, La., is poised to earn a spot in the rotation for the 2013 season.

Manuel tossed 39.2 innings, starting just once in 18 appearances, and earned his first Southeastern win in a 5-1 defeat of No. 21-ranked Mississippi State. Pittari, a left-handed reliever, compiled a 2.20 ERA in 16 appearances while earning a pair of victories. Rainey, a hard-throwing right-hander, fanned 29 batters in 24.1 innings of relief work.

Catalano, a freshman, was a two-time All-State selection at Loranger High School. The southpaw posted a 10-1 record his senior season prepping at the alma mater of former Lion Wade Miley. Cedotal, another freshman left-hander, will split time between the mound and the outfield.

Culpepper, a Belle Chasse native, compiled a 2-2 record with a 3.66 ERA as a freshman at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Gremillion, a hard-throwing righty, redshirted last season after transferring from Millsaps College where he played football.

Klotz was named the LSWA 3A Player of the Year after leading Livonia to the state championship as a junior. Riddell earned All-State honors last season at Jones County Junior College. The right-hander compiled a 7-2 record and a 2.94 ERA.

Scioneaux, an All-State performer at Riverside Academy, posted a 10-3 record with four saves and a miniscule 0.55 ERA as a senior. Von Rosenberg, the younger brother of Pittsburgh Pirates minor leaguer Zack Von Rosenberg, earned All-State honors at Zachary High School after compiling an 8-2 record as a senior.

Southeastern opens the 2013 season Friday at home against UT-Martin. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. and live stats will be available at www.LionSports.net. The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), on the internet at www.LionSports.net as well as on the KSLU iPhone and TuneIn Radio apps. A live video stream is also available through LionVision, which is located in the Fan Zone on www.LionSports.net. 

#	Player	Pos	B/T	Ht	Wt	Cl	Hometown	Previous School
3	Andro Cutura	P	R/R	6-0	180	So	Pearl River, La.	Pearl River HS
6	Matt Pittari	P	L/L	5-10	175	Jr	Mandeville, La.	Fountainebleau HS
10	Jordan Hymel	P	L/L	6-0	205	Sr	Gramercy, La.	Lutcher HS
11	Kyle Keller	P	R/R	6-4	180	So	New Orleans, La.	Jesuit HS
12	John Gremillion	P	R/R	5-10	185	Fr	Covington, La.	Millsaps College
13	Kyle Cedotal	OF/P	L/L	6-1	180	Fr	Denham Springs, La.	Denham Springs HS
16	Buck Bernard	P	L/L	5-10	165	Fr	Petal, Miss.	Pearl River CC
18	Kaleb Manuel	P	R/R	6-3	230	Sr	Mamou, La.	LSU-Eunice
24	Jason Greenleaf	P	R/R	6-3	225	Jr	Covington, La.	St. Paul's HS
25	Sean Kennel	P	R/R	6-1	195	Jr	Slidell, La.	Northshore HS
26	Tanner Rainey	P/IF	R/R	6-2	210	So	Folsom, La.	St. Paul's HS
27	Logan Riddell	P	R/R	6-2	170	Jr	Kenner, La.	Jones County JC
28	Dylan Hills	P	R/R	6-2	200	Jr	Ponchatoula, La.	Ponchatoula HS
29	Gavin Culpepper	P	R/R	6-8	210	So	Belle Chasse, La.	Miss. Gulf Coast CC
32	Mason Klotz	P	R/R	6-2	175	Fr	Maringouin, La.	Livonia HS
33	Brennan Catalano	P	L/L	6-0	218	Fr	Loranger, La.	Loranger HS
34	Tate Scioneaux	P	R/R	6-2	185	Fr	Reserve, La.	Reserve Academy
38	Gabe Von Rosenberg	P	R/R	6-0	190	Fr	Zachary, La.	Zachary HS