His coach compares him to Greg Maddux, but he's striking out hitters like Nolan Ryan.

Moniteau senior pitcher Nathan Markle is having a season to remember.

Markle, a right-hander whose fastball hits the radar in the mid-80s, is 5-0 with a 1.24 ERA this season.

But the truly eye-popping stat is his 59 strikeouts in 29 innings - or an average of two an inning.

"He's smart. He's crafty," said Moniteau coach Arnie Trufley.

"Smart" and "crafty" usually don't come in the same sentence as "strikeout" when discussing pitchers. But Markle isn't your average high school pitcher.

He throws a big breaking curveball in any count, which makes his fastball seem all that much faster.

Couple that with pinpoint control - he's walked just 10 batters this season - and a strikeout artist is born.

"He knows where he's putting the ball," Trufley said. "His out pitch is his curveball. He has a great one."

Markle's success this season for the 7-3 Warriors wasn't completely unexpected. Last year he was 4-5 with a 2.70 ERA and whiffed 62 hitters in 44 innings. The year before he also struck out 62 batters.

He is closing in on the school's career strikeout record, which is held by Heath Schreffler.

"He doesn't have the fastball Heath had," Trufley said. "But what he has that Heath didn't is control."

Markle recently recorded 23 strikeouts in a 10-inning win against Keystone. The first five innings of that contest began on April 1 before play was suspended. The final five innings were played April 18. Markle struck out 12 in the first five innings and 11 in the second five.

"I didn't even notice I had that many," Markle said. "I came into the dugout after an inning and someone told me I had 20."

Markle has faced off against some of the best pitchers in the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference. He recently outdueled Tyler Callihan of Karns City and Adam Milanovich of Union.

"I get pumped up facing off against those guys," Markle said. "Especially when I can beat them."

Markle had an inkling he would have a good season for the resurgent Warriors, who were returning most of their starters from a team that struggled at times last season.

But he didn't expect the individual success he is enjoying.

"I didn't think my numbers would get that high," Markle said. "Before this year, I knew we would have a pretty good team. I knew we would be solid."

Markle gives some credit to Garth Kohlmeyer, who has served as his catcher since both began playing baseball.

"We are definitely on the same page," Markle said. "(The other day) I don't think I shook him off once. I rarely shake him off."

Markle isn't just a one-trick pony. He also can hit and run. When he's not pitching, he is playing shortstop and is batting .472 with a home run and four doubles. He also has nine stolen bases.

But Trufley said that Markle's biggest contribution to the team isn't on the mound, in the field or at the plate. It might be the way he interacts with the younger players on the team.

"After one of our games he was out on the mound working with one of our young pitchers," Trufley said. "He was showing him some things. That's a great leader right there."