In his first year at the helm of Lehigh Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley Connie Mack, Mike Gehringer is enjoying the ride.

His team hasn't been in the playoff hunt with an overall 5-9 record entering this week's play, but Gehringer has been around the game long enough to understand the situation.

"We have a young team and we are getting better with each game," said Gehringer. "Half of our players haven't played high school baseball yet. We do have some guys who have played high school baseball.

"But we're learning. With this year's weather, we haven't had a lot of time to practice. It's going to take some time."

Gehringer has been involved on all levels from youth to high school baseball over the past 22 years. He has been as assistant coach at Notre Dame High School and also coached in the now defunct Prospects Fall League and with Banko Baseball.

"I've been around a lot of different levels of the game," said Gehringer. "These kids will be all right. They have good chemistry."

Among the more consistent performers for the team has been Nathan Gehringer, the coach's son, Grant Herschman, and Pat Mattes, all of whom are high school players.

"Nathan (Gehringer) has pitched and played shortstop for us," said his father. "Grant (Hershman) has pitched very well for us, and Pat (Mattes) has both caught and pitched for us. All of them are very versatile and any of them can really play any position on the field for us.

"They can all play multiple positions and play them well at any time for us. With them being high school players, they can see what is going on here. They also have been good role models for the younger kids on the team."

Gehringer expects his team to finish strong down the stretch. They have gained confidence with some earlier wins over Nazareth and South Parkland.

"We understand the situation we are in better every game," said Gehringer. "Our younger players are responding better to every situation. We have seen the progress and we know we can continue to get better as a team in the next few weeks.

"We know these kids will learn from this year, and most of them will be back next year."