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HAMMOND, La. – If pitching wins championships, first-year Southeastern Louisiana head baseball coach Matt Riser has the stable of arms to carry his team to the Southland Conference Championship.

Earlier this week multiple national media outlets highlighted the talent on the Lion pitching staff.

Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game wrote, "Riser inherits quite a talented weekend rotation with veteran right-hander Andro Cutura and rising righty Kyle Keller leading the charge."

Baseball America's Aaron Fitt echoed the sentiment, "[Riser] believes this is Southeastern's most talented team in his seven years there, highlighted by a deep, experienced pitching staff. Friday starter Andro Cutura is coming off a strong summer in the Cape Cod League, and his 89-94 sinker, 80-84 cutter and quality change should allow him to thrive atop the rotation. No. 2 starter Tate Scioneaux is a competitor with good life on his 88-91 fastball, giving the Lions a nice one-two pitching punch."

Southeastern heads into the season with the top two spots in the rotation solidified. Cutura is slated to start the season opener Friday at Louisiana Tech and Scioneaux will follow up on Saturday.

"We return a lot of veterans, and hopefully will stay healthy, on the mound," Riser said. "Having Andro  back healthy is huge. Tate, who started every Saturday for us last season, brings a big level of dependability. Sean Kennel and Keller are battling for that Sunday role."

Kennel (6-3, 3.49 in 2013) finished last season second on the staff in wins and innings pitched, but it's  Keller who will start the series finale in Ruston, La. Riser feels their roles could evolve over the course of the season.

"I'm not sure who its going to be," Riser said. "They've both looked fantastic in their outings so it may come down to matchups. One guy might match up better on the scouting report versus one team and then the other could throw in the middle of the week."

Still, the middle of the week brings options for the Lions with Gabe Von Rosenberg, freshman Scott Szush, outfielder Kyle Cedotal and once healthy, Dylan Earnest.

"Cedotal may roll into that midweek role," Riser said. "That'll allow us to still start him in center field on the weekends."

Out of the pen, Southeastern has possibly the best one-two punch in the Southland with senior Dylan Hills and sophomore Mason Klotz. Earlier this week Klotz was named to the National Stopper of the Year Watchlist by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Hills was on the watchlist last season.

"To have two guys with that closer mentality plays a huge part for us," Riser said. "They'll actually feed off of each other. We don't have to bring one guy in to make 35-40 appearances. They can split the appearances and be fresh at the end of the year. If we extend one on Friday, we can come back with the other on Saturday."

Bridging the gap between the starters and handing the ball off to Hills and Klotz, the Lions have plenty of talented hurlers. Veterans Jason Greenleaf, who could become the school's all-time leader in appearances this season, and Matt Pittari have been through the week in-week out battles in conference play.

Hard-throwing right-hander John Gremillion, who had the opportunity to close a couple of games for Southeastern last season, joins a crew that includes Logan Riddell, Dregan Bethel, Brennan Catalano and Gage Pickett looking to grow their roles over the course of the season.

"Having Hills and Klotz on the back end, and some veterans like Greenleaf and Pittari in the bullpen, we can feel real confident late in the game."

Holding it all together for the staff is the calming presence of pitching coach Daniel Latham. In his third season with the Lions, he's already produced a pair of Freshman All-Americans (Cutura, Klotz) and the 2012 National Stopper of the Year (Stefan Lopez). Tulane's all-time saves leader, Latham's 43 career saves rank sixth in NCAA history.

The Lions open the 2014 season Friday with a three-game weekend series at Louisiana Tech before returning home to face preseason No. 3-ranked LSU, Feb. 19, at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

Season tickets are on sale for the 2014 baseball season. Box seats ($250), reserved chairback ($100), and upper grandstand ($60) options are available. Box seats grant membership in the Lion Athletic Association ($125 level). A family plan ($200), consisting of two adult and two youth general admission tickets, is also available.

For more information, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or 1-866-LION-TIX. Ticket office hours are 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Fridays, and is located in Room 107 of the Dugas Center for Southeastern Athletics.