MANCHESTER — Reasons for hope abound in Londonderry in spite of yesterday's 2-1 loss to Keene in the Class L semifinals.

The Lancers will lose six seniors — Jeff Dalzell, Brian Finnegan, Kyle Neverman, Chris Verryt, Sean Caron and Chris Crutcher.

"I think we're going to lose a bit of offense and defense, but our pitching will again be among the best in the state," head coach Brent Demas said.

Sophomore Kasey Carollo tossed 12âÑ3 innings of relief after starter Jake Finnegan walked the bases loaded in the sixth. Carollo struck out Nick Nelson and induced Frank Elliott to ground out.

"It's huge, having someone come in here that has that kind of composure who's such a young player," senior Sean Caron said. "Watching him do that just makes everything easier for us."

Caron, one of the "old guys" on the team, is encouraged by the Lancers' wealth of young talent.

"It's our job as upperclassmen to kind of take over and help them out," he said. "I think the younger kids have learned a lot from us this year, from just setting an example to things like mechanics."

Along with Carollo and fellow sophomores Zach Lacer and Jeff Parker, Demas will count on juniors Finnegan, Geoff Fisher, Dan Lagasse, Steven Dvorak and C.J. Flanders. Carollo and Lagasse will be the biggest keys, according to Caron.

"I know 'Rolo (Carollo) is going to be a leader next year," Caron said, "and Danny will step up and do a great job leading the offense."

Said Demas, "You can't replace kids like Neverman, Caron and Finnegan, but we're going to do our best and come back ready to play next year."

A year older, wiser and more experienced, the Lancers should once again compete for the top spot in Class L.