"We're starting to come together," Kevin Mann says when talking about his Northampton softball team.

"We're still tinkering with our batting order, but the girls are playing well and gaining confidence and energy," the second-year coach said as his team hits critical part of the schedule.

The Konkrete Kids are 4-4 overall and 4-3 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference's Skyline Division and "we're ready to make our push toward the league and District 11 playoffs," Mann said after practice Tuesday.

With two-fifths of their schedule complete, Mann says "our two games this week will hopefully be our springboard to a busy schedule next week."

The Kids, who trounced East Stroudsburg South 10-0 in five innings Monday behind two-hit pitching of Jillian Muthard, played at Pocono Mountain West last night and meet Central Catholic at 6 p.m. today at Patriots Park.

"We're not overlooking these two games, but next week's schedule should tell us where we stand," says Mann.

Next week's busy schedule includes a nonleague game at 7 p.m. Monday with Bethlehem Catholic followed by a visit from Nazareth on Tuesday and a nonleague game with Stroudsburg on Wednesday before a Friday game with Parkland. And all four games are at home.

The Kids beat Easton 10-0, Whitehall 3-2 and Pleasant Valley 7-1 in EPC games before losing a nonleague game to Becahi 7-3.

Muthard has been doing the bulk of the pitching lately with fellow sophomore Taylor Keeney sidelined with a lower leg injury.

"We expect Keeney to be back next week for our big push," says Mann. Meanwhile freshman pitcher Lindsay Stuhldreher will move up from the unbeaten junior varsity team.