Darwin (Townsend) evolves at Libertyville

Before he became a Libertyville Wildcat, Darwin Townsend loathed the Wildcats.

Then again, Townsend loathed any team that stood in the way of his beloved Warren Blue Devils.

He was a grade school superfan who bled blue the way he bleeds Libertyville orange and black now. Townsend grew up with the Blue Devils day in and day out.

“I dreamed of playing for Warren,” Townsend said. “I went to so many Warren games when I was a kid and me and my brother Mitchell would sit in the dugout and it was like it was our team.”

In a sense, it was.

Townsend’s dad Dar was the head coach at Warren for 15 years from 1993 to 2008. Darwin spent much of his childhood at Warren games and practices learning the techniques and tricks of the trade that have helped him, ironically enough, beat Warren and plenty of other teams over the course of his standout career at Libertyville.

Townsend is a three-year starter on the mound and rolled up 7 wins as a sophomore and 6 wins last year as a junior. He’s 1-0 so far this season with a win over Carmel, but has spent some time recently resting a sore shoulder.

“(Darwin) has been around baseball all his life and it’s pretty obvious to me that he’s been playing close attention,” Dar Townsend said of his oldest son. “He was like a sponge and he quickly understood what it takes to be a really good player. He saw what took place in our dugouts at Warren and I think that really benefitted him.”

When he was in kindergarten, Townsend’s family moved from Gurnee to Libertyville. But he never fully gave up the dream of playing for Warren until his dad resigned from his position as head coach there the year before he started high school.

“My brother and I would get out of school and go straight to Warren practice until about 6:30 every night,” Townsend said. “On Saturdays, we’d be there all day. We’d get to drive the golf cart (used to haul supplies) around the field and we watched how they practiced.

“We used to love to be around all the guys. It was fun to see what it was like to be a high school baseball player. I think being around all that, learning from those guys…I think it’s made me the player I am today.”

And that is a savvy senior who plays like a senior three or four times over. It’s almost as if Townsend is getting credit for all the years he already spent in a varsity dugout.

“Darwin is gifted and talented. He does a great job locating all three of his pitches and he also has some speed at around 85 miles per hour on some of his pitches,” Libertyville coach Jim Schurr said. “But I really think the best thing about him is his demeanor. He is so even-keel, it’s unbelievable.

“You wouldn’t know if Darwin had just given up a home run or if he struck out the side. He does such a great job handling himself and that goes a long way in a game with so many highs and lows like baseball. I have no doubt that growing up around the game and being a coach’s kid kind of set the stage for that.”

Being a coach’s kid sure has its advantages.

Townsend has a knowledgeable sounding board as well as a pitching and hitting instructor rolled into one. And the elder Dar has all the time his son needs. He left his post as head coach at Warren so that he would never have to miss a single one of Darwin’s games.

As Darwin’s coach for eight years of youth baseball, Dar got spoiled, and used to being around.

“My dad and I have a great relationship,” Darwin said. “We talk about baseball a lot and I’ll ask him questions and he’ll help me with things. We both love the game so much and it’s really cool that he comes to all our games.

“But the thing I like is that we have a good balance. It’s not always about baseball with us. We’ll go golfing, we watch other sports together. We have a really good balance.”

Over the years, Darwin has found just the right way to balance his emotions for Warren.

At first, it was a little weird for him and his dad to face the Blue Devils. It’s gotten easier as the years have passed, but, the reality is, Darwin might always have a little bit of blue blood mixed in with that orange and black.

“I was so into Warren baseball when I was young. When they’d lose a game, it was heartbreaking for me. When they’d win, I’d be so happy,” Darwin said. “I still know a lot of guys and a lot of the coaches over there, so when we play them, it’s a little different.

“I’m competitive because I always want to beat all of the teams in our conference. But it’s just different.”

pbabcock@dailyherald.com