Our second week of fall league action at Hood River’s Orchard Lanes saw some exceptional bowling. Starting the second game of his Fraternal league session, lanky Jeff Miller of The Dalles made an adjustment because his first game was not good. He increased speed and loft. Boy, did that work! His big hooking powerhouse ball crashed into the 1-3 pocket 12 straight times, obliterating those helpless 3 lb. 6 oz. The result: another perfect 300 game. Jeff, who is a perennial All-Star here and one of the top bowlers in the NW, has notched so many 300s that we’ve lost count. He must be working on his second Bakers Dozen! That is a mind-blowing number but folks, to put it simply, he is that good. Earlier in the week he warmed up by firing an eleven strike 290 game in the Monday night Industrial league. Pretty good week, huh?
We also had our first 700 three game series last week as Josh Worth picked up where he left off after setting personal records last season. Josh racked up a nice 704 set in the Fraternal. Unlike Jeff Miller, Josh uses a more direct line to the pocket between the third and fourth arrow with plenty of speed and not much hook. He makes it work. It just goes to show that there are many ways to get it done in this great game.
You can learn a lot by watching successful players. Yet, emulating Miller’s big hook power game would be exceedingly difficult and, even though Josh makes it look easy, it is not. These two stars have been refining their bowling games for dozens of years. That is what it takes, dedication and work. Folks, if you want to be good at bowling, just like anything else in this life, you must put some effort into it. These guys have figured out how to grab the golden ring, they make the pins dance like nobody’s business. Big numbers like these are earned. It’s fun and exciting for most of us to roll a few strikes and convert an occasional tough spare. The ultimate thrill in this game is rolling 300. That is perfection, you cannot do any better but it is not easy. Also, shooting a 700 series is always rewarding because it means you have kept it together over the span of a three-game league session which usually involves both abrupt and subtle changes in lane conditions. Being able to adjust defines fine bowling.
OK, enough ink for the big boys. How about the rest of us? Well, as usual All-Star Bernie Keys led the ladies in scoring. Bernie just keeps on rolling like the Energizer Bunny. She plays that beautiful down and in line between the first and second arrows with a late, sharp hook that dives into the pocket like it has eyes. She is quite simply a strike machine. Last week she punched out four solid scratch 200 games in her leagues plus another 600 series in the Fraternal, a cool 629. It’s fun to watch Bernie scatter the sticks unless you bowl against her, then it’s quite painful!
The Sherrell boys are lighting things up in the senior league, with Mick topping Dick last week 224 to 209. The previous week Dick reigned supreme with a nifty 257/611 to Mick’s 212. Big Ed Busick also abused the pins with a strong 219 game.
Finally, check out new-comer Coby Henning and local orchardist, Ken Kramer. Coby racked up his first scratch 600 last week, climbing over that magical number with a sharp 611 in the Fraternal. That fine effort was 158 pins over his average. Ken is an avid bowler and to put it mildly, he is on fire right now. He tore things up in the Fraternal last week with a super scratch 672 series which was 156 sticks over his average. Ken is now carrying a gaudy 208 average. He is a key member of the hot Hood River Sports Club team who won this competitive league last season and are currently in first place by a half a tick. His teammates are Josh Worth and Bernie Keys, two members of the who’s who in Hood River bowling. Ken plays the lanes just like Bernie, so maybe he has learned by emulating her game. BTW, Josh is averaging 212 and Bernie is at 210. No wonder they are winning, those are impressive individual averages and a team that carries a cumulative 630 average is going to be hard to beat. Nice bowling everyone!
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