Catasauqua’s Alex Bolmer had a productive season for his Connie Mack entry team, but the rising sophomore is confident he can do more.

At the time of this article, around the midway point, Bolmer had a 1-1 record with a 2.33 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 30 innings.

“I think I am throwing pretty well, but I can definitely improve on some things,” said Bolmer at the time. “This year, I am focusing on throwing my fastball and my curveball. Currently, I am working on my two-seam fastball and changeup.”

Head coach Dan Lopez has watched Bolmer steadily improve throughout the season.

“Alex has been throwing very well all season,” stressed Lopez. “I think in every start he has gone at least four and five-plus innings and has been our go-to guy for most of our big games.

“He has shown a great ability to consistently throw strikes with both of his pitches at any count. He also has kept a lot of good hitters off balance with that approach, and we are looking for add a third pitch to his repertoire.”

Lopez also likes his overall development.

“He has matured a lot with trusting his players on the field,” added Lopez. “That is going to be a key to his growth. He doesn’t have to strike everyone out.”

Bolmer, who has been playing baseball at age five and pitching at between seven and eight, has seen the big picture.

“This team has very skilled players at all positions,” said Bolmer. “I think we’re going to have a good finish to our season.”

Lopez noted how pitching is always a key during the Connie Mack season. He credited Cody Roth and Gavin Hacker for their contributions.

“Walks and a costly error hurt us in one game to put us behind, and we were unable to make a comeback late in the game,” said Lopez. “In another game, we left too many men on base and several key bass running mistakes again. In another case, we had the bases loaded and got picked off at first from the catcher throwing down. Another player ran through the stop sign got thrown out, stopping a beginning and momentum.”

Catty Connie Mack dropped its final two games but in very close contests, 6-5 to East Stroudsburg and 6-5 to Palmerton. The team just missed out on the league playoffs.

Those losses came after a 7-0 win over Freemansburg. Both Eastburg and Palmerton finished ahead of the Rough Riders in the standings, including Palmerton with a 10-7 record.

Catty finished 7-9-1 on the season.