Nathan Kelleher-Mochak demanded a rematch every time he lost a backyard Wiffle ball game to his twin brother Jack. He wanted the familial bragging rights that accompanied victory rather than the jeering of defeat.
“Whoever won would be talking about it and making fun of the other guy,” Jack Kelleher-Mochak said. “We’d always one v. one, and that could get a little chirpy.”
Nathan learned from each loss. His competitive nature wouldn’t allow him to be No. 2.
“I don’t want him to be better than me at anything,” Nathan said.
They butted heads, scratching and clawing through middle school. When the Kelleher-Mochaks arrived at Northampton High School, something shifted. They realized they were better pursing the same goal together rather than individual greatness separately, sharpening instead of clawing. Nathan made the Blue Devils’ varsity basketball squad when they were sophomores while Jack remained on junior varsity.
“I was so happy for him,” Jack said. “We both wanted to see each other succeed no matter what.”
Nathan blossomed into one of Western Massachusetts’ best pitchers and hitters this spring. The Daily Hampshire Gazette Baseball Player of the Year led the Blue Devils to the Western Massachusetts Class A tournament and the MIAA Division 2 state tournament. Kelleher-Mochak went 4-2 on the mound with a 1.20 earned-run average. He hit .450 with 13 extra base hits.
“He can literally do everything,” Northampton coach Ryan Parent said. “He’s one of the best pitchers in our division, one of the best hitters, one of the best base runners, one of the best fielders. If he was right-handed he would’ve been an all-state shortstop. He was our emergency catcher.”
At one point he went fourth consecutive starts without giving up an earned run against, a streak spanning 26 innings.
“Doing it matter-of-factly,” Parent said. “Complete and utter ease with his ability and confidence.”
Parent wanted to put him everywhere all of the time. There is only one Nathan Kelleher-Mochak, though. Even if it looks like there are two with Jack in the field, too.
“Nate’s so competitive. He was never going to let Jack have an edge on him. If Jack worked out, Nate worked out,” Parent said. “He’s just a driven, competitive kid who wants to be the best and show you he’s the best every time.”
Nathan’s impact on the Blue Devils went beyond the box score, though. He was a senior captain and one of eight seniors on the team.
“We had a really young team and I’m trying to expose them to my baseball knowledge. Some of the kids on the team weren’t on the team that won Western Mass,” Nathan said of the 2021 edition of the Blue Devils. “I do like to have a lot of fun, too, but when it comes to the game I’m going to be super serious and keep my head up no matter what happens. It doesn’t reflect well on your teammates if you hang your head.”
He’ll take both his talent and his leadership to Springfield College next season. The Pride are giving him the opportunity to play to the fullest of his ability rather than boxing him in as a 5-foot-7 fast leadoff guy.
“They’re getting a steal. He’s a top-notch players. He’s a Division I, Division II player,” Parent said. “At his size, people don’t want to recognize his unbelievable talent and power.”
When he gets there, he won’t have Jack with him for the first time. Jack is headed to Wheaton College in Norton. They’ll be on opposite sidelines for four years when the NEWMAC rivals match up.
“Once we both get there it’ll be pretty weird,” Jack said. “When we see each other on different teams for the first time, that’ll be something.”
They’ll both be where they are in part because of the other one. Nathan won’t be able to call for a rematch immediately if the Lyons prevail. Maybe he’ll keep a Wiffle bat and ball close by, just in case.
FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS
Dom Badorini, senior, Northampton
Tyler Baranowski, senior, Frontier
Kevin Baumann, senior, Frontier
Andrew Ciaglo, senior, Hopkins Academy
Will Dobson, senior, Smith Academy
Tyler Dubreuil, senior, Frontier
Tyler Evans, senior, South Hadley
Caelin Finni, sophomore, Smith Vocational
Patrick Fitzgibbons, junior, Hopkins Academy
Ryan Gaughan, senior, Granby
Logan Graves, junior, Smith Academy
Rylie Heeter, junior, Gateway
Marshall Ingram, junior, Smith Vocational
Jack Kelleher-Mochak, senior, Northampton
Nate Kelleher-Mochak, senior, Northampton
Nate Mills, senior, Amherst
Tim Mitus, senior, Belchertown
Winter Roske, junior, Easthampton
Eli Sayball-Wimmer, senior, Belchertown
Ryan Schneider, senior, Amherst
Griffin Smiarowski, junior, Smith Academy
Mike Toth, senior, Granby
Raymond Toth, senior, Granby
SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS
Cooper Beckwith, Hopkins Academy
Cole Boisvert, senior, Smith Vocational
Liam Bowler, junior, Gateway
Justin Colpack, senior, Easthampton
Sam Dobson, senior, Smith Academy
Race Drobiak, senior, Smith Vocational
Luke Gaida, senior, Hampshire
Will Hogan, sophomore, Hampshire
Collin Kennedy, senior, Granby
Nick Lloyd, senior, Easthampton
Joey Mankowsky, junior, Belchertown
Dylan Martin, senior, Frontier
Brady McDonald, senior, Northampton
Rosco Palmer, sophomore, Smith Vocational
Wes Parent, junior, Northampton
Brady Perkins, junior, Belchertown
Eliezer Rosario Lebron, sophomore, Holyoke
Elijah Rubinstein, sophomore, Amherst
Thatcher Rudnik, freshman, Amherst
Sam Schreiber, senior, Frontier
Jonathan Santiago, junior, Granby
Aidan Torna, junior, Belchertown
Cody West, junior, Hopkins Academy
HONORABLE MENTION
Connor Asselin, senior, Granby
Ryan Belina, junior, Smith Academy
Neil Cunniffe, sophomore, Amherst
Evan Dooley, senior, Amherst
Joe Federici, senior, Gateway
Liam Flynn, sophomore, Hopkins Academy
Otis Follet, senior, Easthampton
Ethan McClain, senior, Holyoke
Matt McDermott, senior, South Hadley
Tyler McDonald, sophomore, Belchertown
Justin Meunier, junior, Hampshire
Cayden Payne, junior, Smith Vocational
Liam Skribiski-Banack, junior, Frontier
Brandon Wishart, senior, Granby