[2/20/04]With a huge junior varsity team and several talented young players on the varsity squad, the future looks bright for the St. Aloysius Flashes.

The future, though, is not now.

St. Al has a thin pitching staff that was depleted by graduation, two key starters who may not hit the diamond until the second week of the season, and few offensive threats.

It all adds up to the start of a rebuilding process for a team that has advanced to at least the second round of the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.

“Every so often you have these types of years, where you run out of ninth-through-12th grade players,” said St. Al coach Joe Graves, who has 19 players on the junior varsity team but only 14 on the varsity roster. “We are a team of the future. “It’s definitely the start of rebuilding for us. We only lose four seniors, and have probably 10 players coming in from the sixth and seventh grades. We have a lot of talent and kids that can play in the young ranks.”

St. Al’s biggest question marks are its pitching staff and its depth.

The Flashes only have two starting pitchers, Andy Wiles and Kyle Richards. Wiles saw some time on the mound last season, but Richards has pitched only in summer league games.

An eighth-grader, Jonathan Longmire, could throw some innings until Richards, who played on the basketball team, works his way into baseball shape.

“We don’t have any dominating pitchers. We don’t have a Jason Brown or an Aaron George, or somebody that can take over a game by themselves,” Graves said, referring to two former St. Al pitchers. “But Andy, because he throws submarine-style, is going to be effective. If he stays ahead in the count, he’s going to be OK.”

The Flashes’ lineup also figures to be thin. Catcher Rob Jones had three home runs and 29 RBIs last season, but the team’s top five hitters from a year ago are gone. Jones, Richards, shortstop Drew Mazzanti, and freshman centerfielder Jordan Muirhead are capable of picking up the slack, but there is little behind them.

“We’ve got three or four that are capable of doing it, but we can’t have any injuries,” Jones said.

Despite the team’s weaknesses, the Flashes feel they can return to the playoffs this season. Their division is weak, and they have had success before with a thin lineup. In 2001, St. Al went to the South State finals with only five consistent hitters.

Whether a similar run is in the cards will depend on how well the veterans play, how quickly the younger players develop, and a little bit of luck.

“I’m going to have to get some leadership out of the older kids and the varsity kids, and bring everybody along,” Graves said. “We could take some lumps if we don’t get up and fight and cinch everything up here. We’re going to have to spot people in at certain situations and see how they handle the heat.”