In Western Pennsylvania, high school baseball teams have to weather the weather.

Bob Hinds knows that as well as anyone.

Hinds, a former longtime assistant coach at Shaler Area under legendary coach Jerry Matulevic, enters his sixth season as the Titans' head coach.

And this year, the lingering foul weather has impinged on the season perhaps more than any he has seen.

To that end, when the Titans played a non-section game against Central Catholic on Monday, it was the first time Shaler was able to tromp on the lush grass at Matulevic Field, normally one of the most playable diamonds in the area. Central Catholic defeated Shaler, 8-6.

"It has been tough," Hinds said. "But the one good thing is that it has been the same for everyone.

"All of the coaches in this area are dealing with the same frustrations because of the weather and I think we are all eagerly awaiting the warm weather getting here."

When it does, when the cold, rainy snap finally pushes off and baseball weather rolls into the area once and for all, Hinds will have just a small window of time to mesh a pitching staff that is full of arms, but a little short on experience.

There is no question that, with this Shaler team, the season will hinge greatly on the development of a handful of pitchers.

It would seem that seniors John Kobler and Andy Gapsky have the top two spots in the rotation nailed down.

Both are proven commodities to Hinds' squad, good enough to cement their places among the finest in Section 1-AAAA this season, even with the likes of Seneca Valley's 1-2 punch of Cory Mazzoni and Kyle Helisek taking the mound in the same section.

For as talented and experienced as Kobler and Gapsky are, the true strength of the staff will be measured by which particular pitchers step in and fill the roles of the spots after those top two.

Right now, with the section starting date against Butler Wednesday fast approaching, there are five players who have the potential to provide depth on the mound and, for the most part, greatly impact Shaler's win-loss total.

Sophomores Zach Kreke and Greg Friend are two young pitchers whose development will be paramount to the Titans' success.

Their presence -- and the possibility that both have of making an impact -- intrigues Hinds.

"They are part of a sophomore class that has had success all the way up through the system," Hinds said.

"To have these sophomores in there might take some getting used to for awhile. But, I feel like they can be combined with the older guys to give us a very good group that, if they work together, can definitely have some success."

In addition to the two sophomores, junior Ryan Fazio will have a chance to make an impact on the mound for Hinds and the Titans.

Then, toss in seniors Erik Fichter and Mike Ventrice, and the Titans undoubtedly have arms stockpiled.

That said, though, the real question is: Which of those young men will step in and pitch well?

On top of that, with the weather as deplorable as it has been, there won't be much of a span of time to evaluate which pitchers will be the biggest factors.

"It would be good if we had some time to develop and, as a coaching staff, had some time to evaluate these young men a little more," Hinds said of his pitching staff. "But, the reality is that the section season starts very soon, so we have to see what these guys can do right now.

"The situation right now is that there is going to be some auditions under fire."