Kegler's Corner: Rollers and Bloom prevail at Orchard Lanes

Monday Night Industrial league:

A couple weeks ago, there was a three team race for first place in the second round of the league between The Rollers, Randy’s Painting and Pat’s Pro Shop. These three teams were only separated by seven points and there was a critical final match between The Rollers and Randy’s Painting. Essentially, they beat each other up in this contest as The Rollers won 13 points and Randy’s got 12. Since these two practically split, Pat’s Pro Shop needed 21 points to win the round, but they came up just short, taking 19 points. By winning those final 13 points, the Rollers squeaked out the narrowest of wins, winning the second round with 149 points to 148 points for Pat’s Pro Shop.

It can’t get any closer than that!

Looking at the individual scores in those two final matches shows a seesaw battle between The Rollers and Randy’s Painting. The Rollers swept the first game, taking all seven points as Paul Dethman and Kevin Harris respectively rolled timely 223 and 222 games for The Rollers. Randy’s Painting returned the favor in the second game, taking all seven points as Chris Huff, Albert Frelix and Randy Nieto rose to the challenge, tossing mighty fine 245, 215 and 214 games, respectively.

Apparently, that waxing motivated The Rollers, as they took six points in the third game of the match because Joella Dethman and Paul Dethman absolutely thrashed their head-to-head opponents by a whopping 63 pins. Winning those last six points turned out to be the decider!

In the meantime, Pat’s Pro Shop got off to a bad start as their OL’7-10 opponents won the first game of their match six points to one. Lynn Spellman was the big gun in that win, firing a nifty 240 game for OL’7-10. Although Pat’s Pro Shop didn’t know it at the time, because if Randy’s Painting had won just two more points in the rest of their match, the Pro Shop would have won the round as they went on to sweep all of the remaining points in their own match. Congratulations to The Rollers (Joella Dethman, Paul Dethman and Kevin Harris), winners of the second round in the Industrial league! By winning this round, The Rollers earn a top seed in the bracket tournament which will be conducted at the end of the season and will decide the  league champion.

Top Monday night Industrial league scores:

Patrick Olson: 265, 700

Steve Byers: 236, 235, 669

Rod Pratt: 239, 667

Woody Eskildsen: 251

Chris Huff: 245

Lynn Spellman: 240

Nancy Asai: 214

Tuesday Nite Mixed league:

CPR (Sandy Holmes, Coral Worth, Dan Nakamura and Steve Silva) and Double A Orchards (Spencer Hansen, Erin Salisbury, Aron Asai and Nancy Asai) are currently tied for first in the second half of the Tuesday Nite Mixed League with 15 wins. Taco Tuesday is in third with 14 wins. But take heart everybody, it’s still pretty close from top to bottom and there are five weeks to go in the second half so just about every team in the league can still win it.

Last week’s key matches saw Double A Orchards sweep Mad Skilz 4-0 and Taco Tuesday took down Who Gives A Split 3-1. Who else but all-star Nancy Asai led Double A in their trouncing of Mad Skilz with a big 255 game and 638 series. And Roy Fleming keyed Taco Tuesday’s win as he topped his average by 99 pins.

Top Tuesday Night Mixed league Scores:

Patrick Olson: 662

Nancy Asai: 255, 293, 638

Janet Kawachi: 214

Dawnell Espersen: 203

Wednesday afternoon senior Colts & Fillies league:

With a long way to go in the second half of the Colts and Fillies league, Skamaniacs (Karen Baumsteiger, Janet Harrington and Dave Baumsteiger) and We Tried (Barb Johnson, Anne Brady and Neil Johnson) are currently tied for first place with 14 wins. Jesse’s Team is in third place with 13 wins.

We Tried made a big move on Skamaniacs last week by sweeping Rice Krispies four games to none while Skamaniacs were only able to win one game from Gutter Gals.

Top senior Colts and Fillies league scores:

Jesse Flores: 247

Dick Sherrell: 204

Wednesday night Fraternal league:

No lead is entirely safe in this great game of league bowling. Vegas odds were stacked for the powerful Bloom Auto Body team to win the second round of the league as they had an almost insurmountable 21.5 point lead in first place with only one week to go. However, the Bloomers’ final match of the second round was a position round battle against second-place Hood River Athletic Club. It turned out to be a monumental contest. The clubbers needed to win 24 out of 25 points in this match against the Bloomers to beat them and win the second round. That’s a tall order for any team, especially against the tough Bloom Auto Body trio, but the undaunted clubbers almost pulled it off. They won 21 points in this match, led by their anchorman Josh Worth, who blasted a gutsy 670 series to sweep his head-to-head individual match by 80 pins. And Teammate Bernie Keys also swept her match, beating her opponent, the formidable Jeremy Bloom, by 89 pins for the three games. The clubbers’ crew also beat the Bloomers by 127 sticks for the team totals. It was nearly a Cinderella finish for the Clubbers but when the dust settled, Bloom Auto Body ended up with 167.5 points to 165 for Hood River Athletic Club.

So, for holding on, congratulations are in order for Bloom Auto Body (Jeremy Bloom, Mark Chabotte and Bryan Mason), winners of the second round in the Fraternal league. This shows just how difficult it is to win in any league, especially in the competitive Fraternal, the best league in the Gorge! By winning this round, Bloom Auto Body qualifies to bowl for the season-ending championship of the Fraternal, which will be held among the three round winners and the wild card team that won the most points without winning a round.

In addition to this incredible battle for first place, there was some other big-time bowling going on in the Fraternal. All-star Chad Mason tossed a perfect 12-strike-in-a-row 300 game. The youngster has already had several in his brief career on the lanes.

This was the third 300 game this season at Orchard Lanes. Jeremy Bloom rolled the first two. Some bowlers have the knack to keep things together when it comes down to rolling those last three strikes in the 10th frame. But for those who aren’t experienced in that special moment, it can get nervy. Many say they got so nervous they couldn’t get their legs to move. The pundits say things are easier in bowling these days, but a 300 game is still special.

John Helm now knows what it feels like to be on 11 strikes in a row, needing just one more strike to roll a perfect 300 game. This was the first time that John made it to that final 12th ball for a 300. The first time isn’t easy. Onlookers report John was understandably nervous and pulled that last shot, leaving the 6-10 pins for a 298 game. The next time will be easier, John.

Top Wednesday night Fraternal league scores:

Stan Pratnicki: 245, 236, 706

Patrick Olson: 268, 692

Chad Mason: 300, 679

Josh Worth: 670

John Helm: 298

Rob Miller: 268

Lynn Spellman: 245

John Riggleman: 236

Nancy Asai: 205

Ciena Brittle: 203

Thursday afternoon County league:

The Munsons (Dane Backman, Tommy Hood and Jay Slack) are in first place in the second half of the County league with 14 wins. The Unbowlievables and Lady Ballers are tied for second with 11 wins. There’s still seven weeks to go in the second half, so all 12 teams can still win it all.

Look out for the first half winner though — The Incredibowls are really on a roll now. For the second week in a row, rambling Rod Pratt led his Incredibowls trio to another 4-0 sweep, this time against The BowLeeAnders. Rod rocked the sticks with a lofty 698 series that included big 258 and 232 games.

In other important matches, The Munsons took down the Holly Rollers three games to one behind the pin busting prowess of Jay Slack, who rolled a fine 205 game in the contest; The Unbowlievables beat Gutter Girls 3 to 1; and Lady Ballers also topped Split Happens 3 to 1.

Top County League Scores:

Rod Pratt: 258, 232, 208, 698

Jay Slack: 205

Melissa Werkheiser: 201

Team of the week

Stan Pratnicki 706

Patrick Olson 700

Rod Pratt 698

Chad Mason 679

Josh Worth 670

Total pins: 3,453

Let’s go bowling, everyone!