As section play hit its midpoint, the OLSH baseball team finds itself an unusual position -- outside of the section's top three.

The Chargers have struggled, losing seven out of eight games before a 12-7 win at Monessen on Monday night. That left the team at 4-7 overall, 3-6 in Section 2-A play, and one game behind Cornell for third place and the final playoff spot.

The team has also endured a bit of a transition period, as fifth-year assistant coach Phil McCarren ascended to the head coaching job, replacing veteran coach Ken LaQuinta after his resignation for personal reasons.

But despite the bumpy start, McCarren felt his young team has a shot to get back on track, starting with a home game against Cornell last night, after this edition's deadline.

"Time will tell how things will work out, because we do have a young team," McCarren said.

"We have some senior leaders in Andrew DeSalle and Graham Harkins, plus a junior, David McNeill. Other than that, we're pretty young, but the kids seem to want to compete."

McCarren also feels that, having been assistants to LaQuinta, he and assistant coach Sam Zyroll have been able to keep a connection to the program's past success.

"For the most part, the continuity is there from what Ken was doing," McCarren said. "We're running as we have been the last five years or so, under Ken."

After a section-opening win over Clairton, the Chargers went on a slide by losing four straight, including a shock loss to Monessen, the Greyhounds' only section win to date. The team topped Clairton again before Monday's win, meaning the team has yet to defeat a squad ahead of it in the section standings.

But in playing from behind in the section, McCarren has told the team to focus on each game individually, rather than get caught up in the big picture.

"Basically, we're taking the approach that it is one game at a time," he said. "The first time through the section, we went 1-4, so from there we had to try and get every win we could."

OLSH's progression in the second half will probably rely on its veteran leadership, which Harkins and DeSalle have done well to provide.

"They've done a lot of things this year that they're not used to doing," McCarren said.

"Andrew's role has always been as a second baseman, but this year we've asked him to pitch and play shortstop some. Graham has usually been a pitcher or outfielder, but he's moved, too. Both have taken on roles as glorified utility men, and they've been very unselfish about it."

Still, if the end of the season comes and OLSH needs one win to reach the playoffs, McCarren will play to his teams strengths. Asked if Harkins would be the pitcher in a must-win situation, the coach's answer was quick.

"Without a doubt."