Northampton head coach Mick Sugra wasn’t overly concerned with his team’s opening-game, 12-0 defeat to North Pocono. The Konkrete Kids were held to one hit.

“We didn’t play that well,” said Sugra, who began his 11th season at the helm. “We had some discipline issues.

“They had two kids in the lineup who are going Division I next year, and one of them pitched against us. They had another kid who is going Division II, and he had a big home run.

“They’ll be very good, and they are a well-coached team. We beat them the previous seven times we faced them, but it is what it is.”

Sugra sees his club getting into the thick of the East Penn Conference (EPC). The Kids were 8-11 last season, and their season ended with a 12-4 loss to Liberty in the District Class 6A quarterfinals.

“We had a good offseason,” he stated. “We also played well in the fall. We lifted and were in the gym three or four days a week. We lost a bunch of kids from last year, and we have six seniors this season.

“But we don’t have any excuses.”

Senior lefthander Hunter Corrow will pace the pitching staff, but Sugra has plenty of other options with juniors Evan Hughes, Matt Merced, and Vincent Santostefano, along with sophomore Logan Higgins among some other possibilities.

Hughes went 3.1 innings in the opener with five strikeouts and five earned runs.

“Corrow has the most innings thrown from last year,” said Sugra. “He has the stuff to be at the top of the rotation, but we have other guys who can step up. We have the potential to have a bunch of arms.”

Higgins is expected to be in the leadoff role and in centerfield for the Kids. Santostefano will be in the two hole and at short. Senior Mike Melosky will hold down second and hit third, and Corrow will hit cleanup.

Senior Eli Angstedt will be back behind the plate and likely hit fifth, and fellow senior Mike Merced will be at third and hit around the six hole.

Melosky will play at Chestnut Hill College next season.

Sugra is optimistic the Kids can rely on a regular mainstay.

“If we can play defense, our offense should be able to put some runs on the board,” he said. “We felt prepared at the start of our first game, and we’ll bounce back.”

Sugra reflected on the program’s 2019 start in which they were held to a combined three hits against Emmaus and Parkland to begin the year. But they later won 13 straight games and won the league championship.

The Kids will get an early test when they face Parkland, Liberty, and Allentown Central Catholic this week.

“We’ll get a good gauge on where we are,” said Sugra. “We’ll see where we go from there.”