This season, Northampton’s baseball team quietly has been making their mark in the East Penn Conference (EPC) as well as the Lehigh Valley baseball world.

However, the Konkrete Kids won’t be quiet any longer.

They began this week’s play with a five-game winning streak, one that extended from one Saturday to the next. Their last triumph was a six-inning, rain-shortened, 5-4 victory over Freedom.

In that game, the Kids battled back from a 4-0 lead to take a 5-4 lead after four innings. It has been one of their trademark successes that led to a 9-3 overall mark. The Kids led their division as well as EPC West and have a one-game lead over Parkland, whom they beat earlier this season.

Veteran head coach Mick Sugra has watched his team hit the ball at a record clip (.393 team average through 12 games) and couple it with average pitching and some mediocre fielding.

The Kids began the season with a 3-0 mark before they suffered a two-game losing streak. Since then, they are 6-1.

“We knew we could hit,” said Sugra. “Our pitching has been solid and not overpowering. It has kept us in games. Our hitting has helped the pitching. We have struggled fielding the ball all season.”

Sugra stated that the team has seven players hitting over .400, and they have given up 27 unearned runs and 30 earned runs over 12 games. They have scored 110 runs in 12 games. Gavin Pychinka led the team with a .571 average, Mason Haupt was at .486, and Nate Wolfe at .484. The Kids had four players with 10 or more RBIs, led by Dylan Fosko’s 13.

He sees his team’s fast start based on the team’s simple and steady pillars to success.

“We looked at last year’s team on paper, and we didn’t think they would win 13 games,” he said. “We constantly stress a good work ethic to become a team. We have a good sample size because the program has made districts for all of the 13 years that I have been here. It may not seem like much, but we think we’re doing something right.

“Our guys have bought into what we have preached. They come to the offseason workout programs, and they can see the fruits of their labor.”

Aside from the hitting and pitching, Sugra has seen developments from their weight-training program.

“We lifted twice a week during the offseason,” added Sugra. “We told them in practice that we are going to lift twice a week. It doesn’t matter how tired we are, we still lift. We can see how that has been paying off for us.”

The Kids were the fourth seed in the District 11 Class 6A bracket behind Parkland, Nazareth, and Liberty. Yet, they are one of five teams with nine wins (Parkland, Nazareth, Panther Valley, and Bangor) in the overall district bracket.

“Liberty, Nazareth, and Parkland have some overpowering pitchers,” said Sugra. “We have seen some, and we could see some down the road. In high school baseball, good pitching will always beat good hitting.”

Still Sugra likes his team’s chances. They’ll begin the week one win away from clinching another district spot with Pocono Mountain East Monday, Nazareth Wednesday, and Allen Friday.

“We’ll see how things go,” said Sugra. “Consistency will be the key for us.”