Crowley, Vernon Hills making progress

Pat Crowley is no longer just your weekend wonder.

Take ... Friday.

Friday — as in, not Saturday.

Crowley stood on a varsity pitching mound.

In his first start of the season, the sophomore left-hander struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced in 3 scoreless innings, as Vernon Hills’ baseball team improved to 2-0 with a 10-2 win over visiting Northridge Prep.

Last spring, Crowley spent weekdays playing in the field for the sophomore team, then some Saturdays would pitch for the varsity.

By season’s end, he had established himself as the varsity’s No. 2 pitcher. He even started the Cougars’ regional semifinal game against Grayslake North (on a Thursday) and earned the win. He also notched a varsity win on the team’s Spring Break trip.

“Going from playing eighth-grade baseball to playing varsity baseball was a big adjustment,” said Crowley, who made the adjustment look easy. “I just came out here, got my work done, got some pitches over and it worked out well.”

Crowley showed off a mitt-popping fastball against Northridge Prep and was both efficient and effective. He threw 31 of his 37 pitches for strikes.

“His cutter worked very well, and he located his fastball very well,” the Cougars’ Butler-bound catcher Chris Marras said. “He could throw his cutter for a first-pitch strike.”

Northridge Prep’s first two hitters, Pete Kane and Liam Brannon, singled off Crowley to start the game. But Marras picked off Kane at first while Brannon was at the plate.

Marras also picked off a runner Thursday in Vernon Hills’ season-opening win over Waukegan.

“I’m aiming for one a game,” Marras said.

Returning ace Tyler Feece, Crowley and the Cougars’ other pitchers have an advantage this season being able to throw again to Marras. The senior, who had a 2-run single in the Cougars’ 6-run second inning, is playing his fourth season on varsity.

“I’ve played on other teams with different catchers, and it’s nothing like having him back there,” Crowley said. “He makes plays that nobody expects him to make that just come out of nowhere. It’s definitely a lot of help having him back there.”

“We got a nice battery,” Vernon Hills coach Jay Czarnecki said. “Now we just got to play defense. Hopefully we can get a No. 3 and a guy we can hand the ball to late in games in case we need to.”

Czarnecki knows Marras will hit and play well behind the plate. He’s looking for leadership.

“I’ve talked to Chris about this,” Czarnecki said. “Sometimes you get those two- or three-year guys (on varsity) that have a great junior year and then come out senior year and they feel like they need to one-up themselves or it’s a complete disappointment.

“He hit (.444) last year,” Czarnecki added. “There’s not too much more he’s going to be able to do. We just want him to be smart and be a leader. If he fails, handle it in a way that everyone else can emulate. But he’s the guy we want up there when the game’s on the line.”

Cleanup hitter Austin Hagen had 2 hits and 3 RBI for Vernon Hills. John Foley (2 RBI) and Feece (RBI) also had a pair of hits each. MJ Crowley (Pat’s older brother and a candidate to be the Cougars’ No. 3 pitcher) legged out a routine groundball to second base to start the Cougars’ big second inning. Veteran third baseman Steve Nelson, who also figures to pitch this spring, was hit by a pitch his first two times up. Brett Peterson’s double was the Cougars’ lone extra-base hit. Connor Dickman also had an RBI single.

Four Cougars — Crowley, Jamie Roussel, Jarrett Henson and Pat Quinn — combined on a 5-hitter.

At one point, Crowley fanned five in a row. He didn’t walk a batter.

“He’s got a pretty live arm,” Czarnecki said. “He worked hard in the off-season. He and Feece are a nice (1-2 pitching) combination.”