Kegler's Corner: Bernie Keys 667

Stan Pratnicki 689

Robert Reed 685

Steve Byers 681

Jeff Brittle 679

Total pins: 3,448

Ten-pin bowling league action at Hood River’s venerable Orchard Lanes saw some mighty fine scores last week. So, we thought it would be appropriate to do a mythical team of the week. That’s right, this quintet does not actually bowl as a team together; instead, they notched these big sets on their own teams and we simply put them together to make up an all-star team of the week. We used a five-person team as our basis because that has always been the standard historical team size in USBC competition.

Let’s take a quick snapshot of these five big shooters. The Dalles’ Jeff Miller needs no introduction. He’s a household name in local bowling, a perennial all-star, scratch 220-plus average and one of the best in the Northwest. Jeff is an avid bowler who works hard at it, practicing many games every week. He’s a lanky guy, 6-feet, 5-inches tall and he rolls a big bending, sharp breaking hook ball from deep left, out to just off the right gutter and back into the 1-3 pocket. It makes sawdust out of the pins. That ball of his has to hook at least three feet! Jeff returned to action last week from a nice vacation on the coast and logged a scratch 714 three game series in the Industrial. That fine number is Just a little bit above his 227 average. Gives you an idea as to just how good he is.

Stan Pratnicki got into this game in New York. Now from White Salmon, the 46 year old plays the lanes down and in between the 5 and 10 boards with a hard charging hook that he projects at just under the speed of sound. Stan’s speedy sphere tore up the sticks in the Fraternal to the tune of a white hot 689 set that kept his 3 Pendejos team in third place, just three points back of first even though they got soundly whipped in their match against Hood River Supply, who moved into first. Stan topped his average by 116 sticks.

Robert Reed, 50, also plays the lanes down and in. He’s been cuffing the pins silly in the Tuesday Nite Mixed for several years now and in his last session, the Hood Riverite and Tofurkey mainstay really found the range with big 255 and 247 games that propelled him to a nifty 685 series. Robert ended up 106 pins over his average for his night’s work.

Steve Byers, 58, hooks the ball smoothly but he plays the lanes more in what we call the track area between the second and third arrows. The Dalles right hander really got serious last week as he pummeled the pins in the Industrial, finishing up with a spiffy 681 series which was a whopping 156 sticks over his average. That was the top individual performance last week.

Jeff Brittle, 56, lives in Hood River but fuels military jets in Portland. Normally, he fires the biggest hook you’ve ever seen from all the way left on the lane to nearly all the way right and then back to the pocket. He proudly hooks the ball at least 4 feet. We noticed that Jeff wasn’t fooling around last week; he took a more direct line to the pins, revving his ball up like a formula 1 racer and it simply crushed the pins in the Fraternal. He warmed up with a lofty 279 game and finished with a classy 679 series.

OK, we’ve saved the best for last. Bernie Keys never fails to amaze. She does it week in and week out. Her latest effort in the senior Colts & Fillies led the league with a beautiful 667 series and it was also the highest set by a woman at the lanes last week. Bernie is another down and in player, around the first arrow, with a small, controllable hook that charges right into the pocket, hitting the pins with authority and machine-like regularity. Plus, another thing that makes Bernie such a good bowler, she makes her spares. That small controllable hook helps and keeps her out of trouble. Bernie is an all-star, one of the best.

Great bowling everyone!

LEAGUE REPORTS: HIGH SCRATCH GAMES/SERIES

MONDAY NIGHT INDUSTRIAL:

Jeff Miller: 279, 714

Steve Byers: 248, 681

Dustin Ticknor: 238

Nancy Asai: 213,212

TUESDAY NITE MIXED:

Robert Reed: 255,247, 685

Patrick Olson: 247,240, 684

Chad Mason: 247

Nancy Asai: 209

Kristen Kawachi: 205

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON SENIOR COLTS AND FILLIES:

Bernie Keys: 234,231,202, 667

Jesse Flores: 224

Dick Sherrell: 222

Ken Kramer: 218

Mike Parke: 214

Mick Sherrell: 200

WEDNESDAY NIGHT FRATERNAL:

Stan Pratnicki: 258, 689

Jeff Miller: 277, 681

Jeff Brittle: 279,239, 679

Roger Montavon: 277, 674

Bill Whetstine: 236, 652

Quinton Cox: 254

Bernie Keys: 235

Hood River Supply is in first by half a point over the BBs; 3 Pendejos 3 points fell back in third; top 8 teams within 10 points of the lead.