Northampton head baseball coach Mick Sugra is optimistic his team can have a reversal of fate this season.

Last year, the Konkrete Kids began with an impressive start and ended with an unceremonious finish. This season, the Kids are off to a 1-3 start in their first four games.

With an untested pitching staff and a cast of returning position players, Northampton has found itself in unchartered waters, plagued by errors, walks, and hit batsmen in the process.

"I'm hoping we can finish strong," said Sugra. "We've started cold, but we have the talent to get it done here. Last year, it was the opposite. Now, I'll take the slow start because I know it is still early."

Still, the veteran baseball coach doesn't like his team's uncommon play.

"We're not the type of team to be beat by walks, hit batsmen and errors," he stated. "When it comes to earned runs with a team, we're right there. But the unearned runs have killed us. We're booting it right now.

"We lost to some very good teams and we're very capable of playing with them."

After crushing neighbor Catasauqua in their opener, the Kids have dropped close games to Pleasant Valley, Whitehall, and Parkland. In those games, the biggest margin of defeat has been three runs.

Sugra noted that his team's hitting appears to be on schedule, while his team's pitching is apparently running late. Garrett Kunkel, who three 18 innings on varsity last year, is the most experienced hurler on the staff.

"We really don't have a lot of experience on the mound," said Sugra. "We do have a number of pitchers and that helps. It is not that they (pitchers) are doing a terrible job, but we do have to improve in that area.

"The numbers of walks from the staff have hurt us. It also doesn't them when we can't field properly."

Offensively, the Kids have had steady contributions from catcher Cody Kramer, first baseman Nate Szoke, and infielders Dane Hooven, Harley Davidson, and Evan Grube.

Outfielder and pitcher Jeff Wesolowski has been the biggest surprise, notably with his bat. Through the first four games, Wesolowski has hit nearly .500.

"He (Wesolowski) has definitely been a spark for us right now," said Sugra. "He has been in the program for four years and has always been consistent. He's off to a good start and we expect him to have a solid year."

With a steady hitting attack, Sugra is confident his team can bounce back from their early season distractions and again be in the hunt for the Lehigh Valley Conference crown as well as a district playoff berth.

"It's early, but we still need to take care of things," he said. "We know we can play with teams and we simply have to do it."