It has been a strange summer for St. Aloysius.

The team’s head coach is gone, as are all of his assistants. The only remaining members of an eight-man senior class that won its second state championship in May are now coaching their former teammates, and a squad that was already headed toward a transitional year is in something of a holding pattern.

Still, the Flashes are trudging on. The varsity squad beat Warren Central 8-6 on Thursday and will conclude the summer schedule with a doubleheader at Ridgeland on Tuesday. The loss of so many entrenched seniors is providing up-and-coming players a chance to gain valuable game experience, and they’re taking advantage of the opportunity.

“It’s kind of weird. We’re so used to playing with them and they’re gone. It’s a new experience,“ freshman infielder Matthew Foley said of the departed seniors. “It gives the young guys a chance to get in there and get reps. They know they can still start, even if they’re young.”

Only two players in the starting lineup Thursday — senior left fielder Judson Gatling and junior infielder Josh Eargle — were upperclassmen. Sophomore pitcher Reed Evans threw seven innings and went 3-for-3 with a homer, double and five RBIs. Foley, who saw significant playing time with the varsity this season, had three hits and scored three runs, while freshman shortstop Carlisle Koestler was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

“We’ve lost a lot more than we won,” Gatling said with a sheepish smile, “but we’ve caught some bad breaks. Most of our games we’ve had more hits than the other team.

“Overall, we’re hitting pretty good. For the younger guys, maturity will come with reps.”

The biggest adjustment for the Flashes is yet to come. On Wednesday, head coach Clint Wilkerson stepped down after six years at the helm. Both of his assistants, Chris Buse and Chris Busby, left earlier this month for other jobs, and a new head coach likely won’t be hired until next month — well after the summer baseball season has ended.

Sean Weaver, the starting catcher on St. Al’s 2009 Class 1A championship team who now plays at Hinds Community College, has been serving as the Flashes’ varsity coach for the summer. Stephen Evans and Pierson Waring, both recently graduated, have served as assistants and Ryno Martin-Nez, another member of the 2010 championship squad, is coaching the junior varsity.

Despite the prospect of having to impress a new coach and start the rebuilding process with a roster full of new players, the Flashes were upbeat. The lessons learned from Wilkerson and their teammates-turned-mentors have convinced them that the program will carry on.

“The new coach will probably change some stuff, but for the most part the program will probably pick up,” Gatling said. “I feel like we can be rolling and all right.

“I feel like we’ve got a lot of young talent. (Wilkerson) was good and hopefully we’ll have a coach that can back him up.”