In his only start of the Saladino Tournament, Strawberry Crest hurler Mark Moclair was nearly untouchable. He threw a complete-game no-hitter March 12 against Plant City with eight strikeouts, broken up only by two walks. Even before last Wednesday, he was riding high after three innings against Middleton: nine strikeouts, no walks, no hits.
You’ve had two great starts in a row. What’s been your approach on the mound?
Just trying to stay low in the zone — preferably knees and lower thighs. I’m really trusting my coach and my catcher to call the right pitches and know what to do. I put my trust in them, instead of really thinking about that.
Did you realize you had no-hitters going in those games?
In the Middleton game, I did have a feeling. I was a little excited, but I didn’t let it worry me too much. I knew our offense was going to come out and do their thing. Our defense played really well — against Plant City, they played exceptional.
You guys lost to Jefferson in the Saladino finals, but that was a close one.
We started off pretty well. We scored four runs early, and our defense was solid. Jake Ralyea did amazing through five innings. We let Jefferson inch back into the game — and they’re a great team, too — and defensively, and on the mound, we kind of fell off. But we have no worries, as a team, about what’s to come in this season.
You play a few other positions, too, but what’s your favorite?
I just like being on the field. I like infield and outfield. I like running around and chasing balls down in the outfield, and in the infield, I like how smooth it can be. But, on the mound, it’s a lot of fun — you’re kind of the deciding factor of what happens with that pitch and that batter.
What are your hobbies, outside of baseball?
I’m really fond of fishing. I fish with some of the guys on the team. We go out to the lake or out to salt water. Either way, it’s just great to be on the water and get away from it all sometimes. I went to Cocoa Beach this past weekend, and I went with Ben Welch — another pitcher — to the lake behind his house and caught a couple.
What’s your biggest catch ever?
I don’t know. I caught a really nice mangrove snapper a while back.