Team Crowley sticks together at VH

Besides the Jack-and-Jill bathroom that separates their bedrooms, not much stands between MJ and Pat Crowley.

They’re as close as two brothers can be.

“When we were younger, we lived in a different house and we actually shared a room for like 7 years, and we really liked that,” MJ said. “We were always together.”

“We had bunk beds and everything,” Pat said. “And we really didn’t fight too much. We spent a lot of time together playing basketball, football and baseball outside in front of our house.”

“If we were at home, we were playing sports together,” MJ added.

Well, it’s like being out in the front yard this spring for the Crowley boys, who yet again are as close as can be once they hit the baseball field for Vernon Hills.

MJ and Pat Crowley are not only gratefully sharing the experience of playing ball together for the first time ever, they’re also playing the same positions. And they’re both starters.

“We’ve grown up playing all the same sports, but because of our age difference, we’ve never played on the same teams before,” Pat said. “This is our first time being on the same team, and it’s pretty cool.”

Added MJ: “I think it’s pretty to know that we’re both impacting the team in similar ways.”

MJ, an 18-year-old senior, and Pat, a 16-year-old sophomore, are standout outfielders and left-handed pitchers for the Cougars. Oftentimes, only a few yards of outfield grass separates one Crowley from another. MJ plays left field and Pat is the centerfielder.

“It’s great to have someone next to you out there that you have great chemistry with,” Pat said. “I know his tendencies and he knows mine and when a ball is hit into a gap, we communicate so easily and we make the play.”

Meanwhile, the Crowleys also team up in the bullpen. They help each other with pitching techniques and strategies. Pat is the No. 2 pitcher on the team while MJ is No. 3. They have combined for five of the team’s nine wins so far this season.

And although it hasn’t happened yet, they figure that it’s only a matter of time before they are relieving each other on the mound. So does their coach.

“That’s going to happen, I’m sure,” Vernon Hills coach Jay Czarnecki said. “You’d think that might cause a problem, if one had to come in because the other was struggling. But the thing I like about MJ and Pat is that they are so supportive of each other. I’ve never sensed a feeling of disappointment in one when the other is getting an opportunity or succeeding. They are really happy for each other. They help each other and they support each other.”

They also push each other.

MJ and Pat are using this unique shared experience to make themselves better.

“We’ve done that our whole lives,” Pat said. “The fact that we’ve always been so competitive with each other is the reason we’ve gotten to the point where we are now.”

The brothers have always been trying to out-do each other, even if it’s in just a small way. That hasn’t changed. Each and every day in practice and during every game they are mindful of each other.

“A lot of guys have joked that Pat was going to take my spot and that I couldn’t let my little brother take my spot,” MJ said. “I guess as the older brother, you want to feel like you’re in control. You want to prove something. It kind of makes me push myself. He pushes me, just like I push him.”

Pretty soon, there will be no pushing, or competing, or sharing between the boys. At least not on the baseball field at Vernon Hills.

MJ’s amazing athletic career at Vernon Hills that has included four consecutive years as a three-sport athlete (football, basketball and baseball) is in its twilight hours. He’ll be going to Illinois next year for college, while Pat will be back for his junior season with the Cougars.

“Having MJ out there with me has been a relief to me. He’s always there to pick me up and to help me out,” Pat said. “I’m definitely going to miss him.”

MJ won’t be gone for good, though.

Nothing will change on his side of the Jack-and-Jill and he plans on making many trips back to Vernon Hills next spring.

“I’ll still be at games (with Pat), but I’ll take on the role of cheerleader,” MJ said. “It’s going to be strange not to play anymore and it’s going to be weird for me and Pat to be apart, but I think it will make our relationship that much stronger because we’ll value it even more.”

pbabcock@dailyherald.com