HAMMOND – There will be new faces in the outfield, maybe all new faces, for Southeastern Louisiana to start the 2012 baseball season.

Graduation took left fielder Jeff Harkensee and center fielder Cass Hargis, the school's all-time hits leader. Returning right fielder Cody Gougler will see time as the designated hitter and may be there to start the season if junior Alex Marse gains the starting nod in right.

Southeastern head coach Jay Artigues opted to go the junior college route in replacing Hargis and Harkensee. The Lions brought in Ladd Rhodes from Jones County (Miss.) JC and Harry Slade from Northwest-Shoals (Ala.) CC to compete for the open positions.

“Ladd Rhodes has solidified left field,” Artigues said. “He'll be our starter heading into the season and Harry Slade will start in center. Right field is between a couple of guys. Alex Marse has done a good job out there defensively and Cody Gougler has been a starter there the last couple of seasons. Right field we may move some people around until someone wins that spot.”

Gougler, a two-time member of the Southland Conference All-Academic Team, owns a .313 average and more walks than strikeouts in his career. The senior has started all but three of Southeastern's games over the last two seasons. If Marse wins the right field job he'll be making his first collegiate start in the outfield.

Newcomers Rhodes and Slade bring plenty of speed to the Lion outfield.

Rhodes hit .345 with 30 RBI and 20 stolen bases in helping lead Jones County to the NJCAA Division II National Championship Game last season. Slade, a former member of the Southern Conference's All-Freshman Team at UNC-Greensboro, hit .396 last season at Northwest-Shoals and stole 29 bases in 33 attempts.

“Ladd can hit in the one, two or six hole,” Artigues said. “He swings the bat well from the left side and is very athletic. He was a quarterback in high school and played centerfield in junior college. Our outfield is going to be very athletic this year.”

Sophomores Ryan Downing and Britt Gautreaux will also see time in the outfield for Southeastern.

“Britt has a chance to play at both first and right field. The bottom line, if Britt hits he'll find his way into the lineup somewhere.

Last season, Gautreaux started 10 games in right field for the Lions while compiling a .439 on-base percentage. Downing, a graduate of Hammond's St. Thomas Aquinas High School, transfers back to Southeastern from Delgado Community College.

“Ryan Downing has done a good job swinging the bat and he's competing for a key reserve role,” Artigues said.

The Lions open the 2012 season at home Friday against Indiana State. First pitch at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Num.	Name	Pos.	B/T	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	Hometown	High School	Previous School
4	Alex Marse	UT	R/R	5-10	165	Jr.	Paulina, La.	St. Charles Catholic HS
7	Ladd Rhodes	OF	L/L	6-0	200	Jr.	Biloxi, Miss.	Gulfport HS	Jones County JC
9	Harry Slade	OF	L/L	5-10	165	Jr.	Baltimore, Md.	Loyola Blakefield HS	Northwest-Shoals CC
14	Adam Michel	OF	R/R	6-0	180	Rf.	Paulina, La.	Lutcher HS
27	Ryan Downing	OF	R/R	5-11	175	So.	Hammond, La.	St. Thomas Aquinas HS	Delgado CC
21	Britt Gautreaux	OF/1B	L/L	6-0	180	So.	Geismar, La.	Dutchtown HS
33	Cody Gougler	OF/1B	S/L	5-10	190	Sr.	Huntsville, Texas	Huntsville HS