Veteran Northampton head baseball coach Mick Sugra normally spends his summer away from the game, yet always keeping progress of his current and future players in the Connie Mack and Legion teams.

This summer, Sugra decided to take more of a hands-on approach, as he took over the reins of the Moore Redhawks composed mainly of Konkrete Kids.

It proved to be a worthwhile experience for him and his team.

“I really enjoyed my time coaching Connie Mack,” said Sugra. “I had the chance to coach my son and a bunch of others I got to coach since Tee-ball.”

The Redhawks finished with an overall 10-8 mark, but Sugra believed there was potential for more. Moore Township lost to North Parkland in the opening round of the playoffs.

“We were a 10-8 team that was three outs away each of the last six games from being a 16-2 team,” beamed Sugra. “It blows my mind.

“We had the lead going into the seventh (inning) in six of our last seven games, and the other we were tied 1-1. But at the end of the day, the kids played really good baseball.”

Sugra stated that his team had a nine-game winning streak, but they then lost six consecutive by one run apiece. As a team, they hit .318 with 122 runs scored and a .942 overall fielding percentage.

Aidan Sugra led the team with a .553 average, 26 hits, 22 hits, and a .702 slugging percentage. Charles Burrell hit .440 with 22 hits and team-high 17 RBIs along with a .602 slugging percentage.

Brayden Giandomenico hit .413 with 19 hits and 12 RBIs. Sugra and Giandomenico each stole 10 bases.

On the mound, Brandon McEntire led the team with 34 strikeouts, and Burrell had 25.

“We struggled a bit with our pitching,” added Sugra. “We had 92 strikeouts and 98 walks. We put way too many people on base. All those close games we were in, you’re not going to win many with that kind of walk/strikeout ratio.”

Through it all, though, Sugra had a memorable summer and saw progress.

“The kids had a great time and were a very committed group,” he stressed. “Aside from the scheduled vacations, the kids showed up every day. I couldn’t have asked for anything more from these boys.”