HAMMOND, La. – The preseason pick to win the Southland Conference title, the success of the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball program in 2022 rides heavily on the arms of its pitching staff.
 
Southeastern returns eight of its nine starters offensively. Right-handers Brennan Stuprich, the reigning Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, and Will Kinzeler both earned Preseason All-Conference honors, but beyond the pair, there is a look of unfamiliarity on the mound.
 
"We lost Will Warren to the draft after last season," head coach Matt Riser said. "We were planning on that after the career he had, so we recruited to help replace him and developed some guys this summer. We've also had some injuries. Our guys have been challenged early as a staff. Unfortunately, it looks like we will not have Grant Upton this season and Brennan Stuprich will hopefully be back between mid-March and the first of April.
 
With Stuprich missing at least the first month of the season, recovering from an offseason injury, Kinzeler will be joined in the rotation by a pair of newcomers.
 
"Obviously when some guys go down, it creates some opportunities for others to step up," Riser said. "I feel like we've done a good job of signing depth so they can do that. Looking at the weekend rotation, Will Kinzeler is the mainstay on Fridays. He had a great freshman year and has done a really good job of getting more physical, to the point he should be able to finish out the year pitching at the level we think he's capable of. He's gained 15-20 pounds in the weight room and his velocity has increased."
 
Kinzeler was named the Southland's pitcher of the week twice last season, wrapping up the season with a 4-4 record and a 4.33 ERA. The native of Covington, Louisiana nearly averaged a strikeout per inning, racking up 68 in 70.2 innings of work.
 
"Hayden Robb will be our Saturday starter," Riser said. "He's a true competitor and had a lot of success at Mississippi Gulf Coast [Community College] as a starter. He compares favorably to former Lion Tate Scioneaux in fastball life and fastball command."
 
Hailing from Vancleave, Mississippi, Robb averaged more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings during his junior college career.
 
"Hunter O'Toole will be our Sunday starter," Riser said. "Looking at what he's done the last year, when he got here he didn't perform at the level he wanted to. We signed him out of junior college to be a big piece and he only threw six innings for us last season. He did a great job committing back to it, losing 20 pounds and now his stuff is better than ever."
 
After appearing just once in the first two months of the 2021 season, O'Toole carved out a role in relief over the final weeks of the season.
 
"We'll look to Lance Lauve to be our midweek starter early," Riser said. "A few other guys will have also the opportunity as we get into some five-game weeks later.
 
Lauve battled back from injuries his senior season at Holy Cross H.S. to spin a perfect game against John Curtis H.S., striking out 12 in seven innings.
 
Backing up the starting staff is a deep bullpen.
 
"The good thing about the bullpen is we have some experience back there," Riser said. "Trey Harrington has been in the program now for five years. Daniel Dugas is in his third year. Gage Trahan and Brock Batty are both seniors. We'll really rely on our veterans to use that experience to help us finish out ballgames.
 
Batty, Dugas, Harrington and Trahan combined for 31 appearances last season.
 
"Andrew Landry is the x-factor for us," Riser said. "He has elite stuff and had a really nice fall. Landry has a chance to be a premium arm for us and might emerge as the closer before the end of the season."
 
Dalton Aspholm, Kyle Bartley, Ethan Crayton, Adam Guth, Alex Potter, Reid Reynolds, Jacob Scherer, Noah Smith, Andrew Yuratich, Christian Westcott are all in the mix fighting to fill roles on the staff.
 
The Lions will be without transfers Jay Long, a left-handed starter, and Ryan Peters, a right-handed reliever, who will both miss the season with injuries.
 
Southeastern opens the regular season at home with a three-game series against SIU Edwardsville this weekend at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field. Games are scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
 
A rugged non-conference schedule awaits SLU in 2022, with nearly one-third of the overall competition and more than half of its road slate against teams that advanced to the NCAA postseason this past year. The Lions will face three opponents ranked in the preseason Top 5, No. 2-ranked Arkansas, No. 4-ranked LSU and No. 5-ranked Ole Miss.
 
SLU will host 28 home games, comprising more than half of its regular-season schedule. The Southland Conference's annual attendance leader welcomes postseason participants Louisiana Tech (March 2), Ole Miss (March 15), South Alabama (Apr. 19) and Southern Miss (Apr. 26) to Hammond.
 
RADIO SHOW
The 2022 debut episode of Inside Southeastern Baseball with Matt Riser, presented by Pour House Pizza and Beer Garden, will be Monday at 12 p.m. from the restaurant in downtown Hammond. Fans can listen to every show online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via the Lions Gameday Experience, MyTuner Radio or Mixlr apps. The MyTuner Radio app is compatible with the Apple CarPlay software available in most newer automobiles.
 
TICKET & PARKING INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are on sale for the remainder of the regular season. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to minimize ticket lines on game days. Southeastern students are encouraged to contact the ticket office prior to the game to reserve theirs in advance.
 
Tickets can be purchased online at www.LionSports.net/Tickets or by contacting the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Fridays. The ticket booth at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field opens exactly one hour prior to the scheduled first pitch.

Southeastern uses mobile ticketing as the primary method for distributing tickets purchased online. Tickets will be available via text message or email in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet. 
 
Gameday parking during the 2022 season is $5 per day for standard vehicles and $25 for RVs.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics enforces a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. The policy mirrors safety precautions required for entrance to professional and collegiate sporting venues throughout the country. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/Clear.
 
LIONS GAMEDAY EXPERIENCE APP
The Lions Gameday Experience app puts audio, stats, video, social media and more in the hands of fans. Those in attendance can also check in to earn reward points redeemable for Southeastern-related prizes. Available for both Android and iOS devices, it can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play or by following the link www.LionSports.net/App.
 
DIAMOND CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the baseball program are encouraged to join the Diamond Club. Lion baseball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Diamond Club and S Club (baseball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern baseball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
  
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lions Baseball, follow @LionUpBaseball or @MattRiser17 on Twitter, @LionUpBaseball on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.