HAMMOND, La. – The back-to-back Southland Conference regular-season champion Southeastern Louisiana University baseball program begins full squad workouts Monday, kicking off its designated fall practice period.
 
A total of 23 players return off last season's championship squad, including Southland Hitter of the Year Peyton Woods and All-Conference pitcher Nik Toups.
 
Senior shortstop Connor Cuff, who impressed this summer during an abbreviated stint in the Cape Cod League, joins Woods as the only everyday starters returning in the lineup. The Lions need to replace starters at three of the four infield positions, along with catcher, center field and the designated hitter slot.
 
Additional position players with regular-season experience returning are limited to outfielders Brooks Wright and Rhett Centanni, catcher Gavin Panks and infielder Brock Laird. Redshirt catcher Jacob Keys and infielder Josh Henson also return.
 
Fourth-year SLU coach Bobby Barbier and his staff welcome 11 new hitters and seven new pitchers to the program.
 
All but one of the bats have some level of collegiate experience, including infielders Parker Ibrahimi (TR), Cameron Greene (TR), Jackson Henderson (JC), Connor Micheu (HS) and Hollis Porter (TR), outfielders Garner Anderson (TR), Tyler LeJeune (TR) and Maddox Mandino (TR), and catchers Ray Jesse (TR) and Andrew Taylor (TR), along with utility player Everett Denny.
 
On the mound, the Lions return more than 50 percent of the innings logged last season.
 
In addition to Toups, SLU returns Cape Cod League All-Stars Brady St. Pierre and Truitt Webb, along with Chase Ambrose, Larson Fabre, Logan Freche, Dalton Gray, Kaleb Howell, Austin Minichino, Carson Robb, Levi Shaffer and Sawyer Simmons. The returnees also include redshirts Brady Schmidt, Owen Stempel and Jacob Thorn.
 
Added to the mix on the mound are transfers Braxton Demopulos, Riley Marcotte and Patrick Spencer Jr., along with freshmen Drake Amedee, Ayden Bullock, Sam Marse and Mills Richardson.
 
UP NEXT
Intrasquad scrimmages begin later this week as the Lions prepare for a four-game slate against outside competition.
 
Weekly exhibitions begin Oct. 24 in Biloxi, Mississippi, with the Lions scheduled to face Memphis on the beach at Keesler Federal Park, home of the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers. Tickets for the neutral-site exhibition are currently on sale through Ticketmaster.
 
SLU hosts a pair of home exhibitions, Oct. 30 against Jones College and Nov. 6 against Southern University, at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
 
General admission tickets for each of the Lions' home exhibitions are $10 per game, with all proceeds going to the Diamond Club. Tickets can be purchased 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.
 
For their final exhibition contest of the fall, Southeastern travels to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for a matchup against LSU at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics enforces a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. The policy mirrors the 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.
 
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 the 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 by visiting www.LionUp.com.
  
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow the Southeastern Baseball social media accounts (@LionUpBaseball) on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to stay engaged with the program.
 
The latest updates are also available at www.LionSports.net and the Lions Gameday Experience app. Available on both Android and iOS, the Gameday app can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play.