Libertyville's combo is clearly double trouble

There's trouble with the baseball team at Libertyville High School.

Double trouble, that is. And the Wildcats are inflicting it on anyone in their way.

Libertyville's knack for making good on double plays this season has spelled all kinds of trouble for the opposition.

Just seven games into the season, middle infielders A.J. Schurr and Tyler Schweigert, with some help from third baseman Mike Whartnaby and first baseman Brad Martin, had already turned 12 double plays.

That's almost two double plays a game. At this pace, the Wildcats could roll up more than 60 doubles by the end of the regular season.

Those kinds of numbers are simply unheard of in high school baseball. Double plays just don't happen very often at this level.

To wit, the Wildcats thought they were double play kings last season and were thrilled when Schurr and Schweigert turned 15 doubles. Total.

Talk about upping the ante. The Wildcats have nearly reached last year's total already.

"I was talking about the double plays with Pat Somers, who was an assistant for probably more than 15 years under Jim Panther (Libertyville's previous head coach)," Libertyville head coach Jim Schurr said. "At the time, we had just played our third game and I was telling him that we already had 8 double plays.

"He was saying that in all his years, he couldn't remember the teams he coached at Libertyville getting 8 double plays over the entire season. So, this is pretty unusual.

"Normally, you'd be excited if you got 2 double plays over the course of a week. To get a clump of them in such a short amount of time is pretty unbelievable."

Indeed, it is, which is why I felt compelled to get the inside scoop on what makes Libertyville's defense so doubly troubling, if you will

Schurr, a junior who is the Wildcats' second baseman, and Schweigert, a senior shortstop, filled me in on all things double play.

PBM: In your opinion, why are double plays so rare at the high school level?

A.J. Schurr: "I've never seen other high school teams practice, so I don't know how much they practice double plays. We practice them a lot. Today (Monday) at practice, we did every double play scenario you could think of. We did probably 75 to 100 double plays. And that's typical. It's all muscle memory, so during the game when that ground ball is hit, you don't get that quick jitter. It's just routine. Even in the winter, we worked double plays on all levels so that when you get outside, it's not foreign to you."

Tyler Schweigert: "I think a big thing is that you rarely get four really great athletes in the infield like we have this year. Mike Whartnaby, who has been in on some double plays at third, and Brad Martin at first are just as quick as A.J. and me. We rely on all four of us. I haven't seen another high school team have that type of infield. A lot of it is the athletic-ness that this team was blessed with all at the same time. The other thing is that we practice it every day, more than the routine straight-over-to-first plays. Our thought is that any time there is a ground ball, we're going to go for it."

PBM: So at Libertyville there is an expectation that double plays will be made?

AJS: "When we have no outs, you'll hear someone say, 'Let's get a ground ball.' Because we think that if we get a ground ball, we have a good chance of getting two outs. We knock on wood when we say it, but we'll say 'ADP." Because we think (a ground ball) should be an automatic double play."

TS: "It's just the thought process when the ball is coming at you. We're thinking double play. We're thinking that we're going to turn it."

PBM: There's a difference between thinking you're going to do something and actually doing it. Take me through the anatomy of a successful double play.

AJS: "There are five important things that need to happen.

1. "You have to have a decent ground ball. If you have a slow-roller or a ball that's hit in the hole to Tyler's backhand, that's going to be really tough to turn. I think we've turned one of those. But it was the quickest feed I've gotten from Tyler and one of the hardest throws I've ever made to first base.

2. "You need a good feed, or basically a decent throw to the bag. As a second baseman, you're always taught to expect a bad throw. Even though Tyler and I work on it so much and he makes great throws, you expect a bad one just so that you're ready. If you're sitting there expecting the ball to be right on your glove and it's anywhere other than that, you're going to be caught off guard. If you're thinking the ball can be anywhere, you're alive, you're going to be reacting, so nothing surprises you.

3. "As the receiver, you're taught to approach the base by straddling it so that wherever the ball is, you can move either way. If you stand there with one foot on the base, like a first baseman does, you can get caught off guard if it's a bad throw.

4. "You have to use two hands. One, so you don't drop the ball. And two, because it's much quicker if you have your throwing hand right by your glove so that you can just catch and throw. If you stick just your glove hand out there, you've got to catch the ball, then move your glove over to your throwing hand and then make a throw. It's much slower.

5. "You need to make a strong, accurate throw to first base. And you need to throw the ball hard. Don't worry about making an overthrow. Guys who do let up and they end up making a bad throw. The more throws you make like that, the more comfortable you'll be with it and the better you'll be."

PBM: What are the biggest reasons double play attempts fail, particularly at the high school level?

TS: "I would say a lot of kids think in their minds, 'I've got to get this out of my hands fast.' So they rush. They start thinking about the double play before they actually have the ball in their glove. Then they botch the ground ball and they get neither out. The other mistake would be the transfer, trying to rush it out of your glove and not finding it right away, bobbling it. Just slow down and take your time. If you can throw the ball hard enough, you'll get it there without having to rush."

PBM: What is the best double play the two of you have made together?

AJS: "Against Barrington in the sectional semifinals last year we had a really good one. Even though we lost that game, we made a double play at a big point in the game. I remember the crowd was bigger than usual. I didn't think we were going to make it. It was one of the hardest throws I've made. I jumped over the guy coming into second and the crowd went nuts. It was a big momentum changer. We should have won that game but we stranded a bunch of guys.

"Also, we had three double plays against Hoffman Estates this year. Twice the bases were loaded. That got everyone fired up. Coming into the dugout it gives you momentum. If you're on the other end, it's like one second, you've got the bases loaded, and you think you're going to do some damage and then one pitch later you've got to walk back onto the field. It's like 'Whoa, what just happened?'"

TS: "There was one last year against Warren at their place. The kid hit a rocket to my right side. It was a one-bouncer and I back-handed it and instead of turning glove side, I turned the opposite side and went all the way around. It was the longer route (to second base), but the only way I could get to it. I got it to A.J. in time and he did the same and got it to first. The bases were loaded at that point. It was a game-changing moment."

PBM: Both of you have ambitions to play in college. Does being known as a double-play guy make you more marketable?

AJS: "I think it does. You don't see some college teams turn as many double plays as we do. You've got to think that says something about what I can do or the program I'm coming from and where I can go from here."

TS: "Definitely. Colleges are looking for players who are confident and who can get the job done. In college, you're expected to get a double play so to already have that mentality and confidence in high school, that's huge."

PBM: You two are kind of like partners in crime. Are you going to miss playing together next year?

AJS: "Definitely. We have that bond."

TS: (Laughing) "Whatever college I go to, I'm just going to try to get A.J. in there, too."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com