HAMMOND, La. – From its beginnings in the 1930s to recent success under Jay Artigues, the greatest moments in the 80-year history of Southeastern Louisiana University baseball are featured in a new documentary produced by the Southeastern Channel, the university's Emmy-winning educational access channel.

"Kings of the Diamond: The History of Southeastern Baseball" will air at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, and re-air Tuesdays (4:30 p.m.), Thursdays (7 p.m.), Fridays (2 p.m.), Saturdays (7 a.m.)  and Sundays (12 p.m.) throughout the month of October, on the Southeastern Channel (Charter Cable 18 in Tangipahoa, St. Tammany and Livingston parishes; Charter Channel 17 in Washington Parish).

"Playing in the College World Series and winning NCAA Division I playoff games are great achievements," said Southeastern Channel general manager Rick Settoon. "With the Major League playoffs on the horizon, we feel it's a good time for fans to reflect on the winning tradition of Lion baseball and its top moments. The show is both informative and moving."

As told through the eyes of longtime Southeastern Sports Information Director Larry Hymel, a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame who covered Lion sports for 28 years, the documentary starts with the first Lion nine in the '30s and moves quickly to top teams of the '40s featuring players from Massachusetts who later played for the minor league Hammond Berries of the Evangeline League.

Next, the documentary focuses on the Lions' three Gulf States Conference titles in the 1950s and '60s under coach Pat Kenelly. The namesake of the current Lion baseball field, Kenelly later coached football and served as athletic director at Southeastern.

"Kings of the Diamond" features the 1975 club, coached by Bob Ricketts, which advanced to the NCAA College Division (now Division II) World Series, and describes the 1980s impact of coach John Stephenson, a former major league player and coach who rejuvenated Southeastern's winning tradition. Stephenson also played a huge role in upgrading the baseball facilities with new dugouts, fences, bleachers, outfield walls, stadium lights and a new press box.

The show then spotlights the Lions' greatest modern-day achievements under Stephenson's successor, Hammond native Greg Marten, who captained the 1975 World Series team. As Trans America Athletic Conference champions in 1992 and 1993, Marten led the Lions into the NCAA Division I regional playoffs twice, upsetting top-seeded Hawaii, 8-0, in the 1992 West Regional opening round behind the shutout pitching of future major leaguer Kirk Bullinger.

The documentary ends with the unprecedented string of success engineered by coach Jay Artigues, currently Southeastern's interim athletic director.

Top players highlighted include two-sport stars Coon Porta and Billy Ladner, who were football All-Americans, along with pitcher Jerry Bowles, a Hammond High great who set the Gulf States Conference strikeout record his freshman year before signing with the Cincinnati Reds. The exploits of Bullinger, shortstop Andy Davis, and hitters Kevin Fogg, Macky Waguespack and Gus Malespin are also included.

Along with Hymel, the story is told through interviews with Marten and Stephenson along with  vintage photographs and video highlights like Jordan Hymel's 2013 no-hitter, the fifth in school history, as called by KSLU play-by-play announcer Damon Sunde.

"Kings of the Diamond" was produced, written and directed by Southeastern Channel student Rhett Sharpe as an independent study project. Sharpe works for St. Tammany Channel 13 in Mandeville along with Southeastern alumnus Charles "Tiger" Edwards, who narrated and co-wrote the documentary.

In its 10 years of existence the Southeastern Channel has won over 200 regional, national and international awards, including 9 Emmys and 34 Emmy nominations. In addition to Charter Cable, it's viewed online in 46 states and 47 countries monthly with Video on Demand programs and a live webcast available at www.southeastern.edu/tv.

Fall baseball practice is underway at Southeastern as the Lions prepare for the upcoming 2014 season, their first under interim coach Matt Riser.