The last night of the first half in the Tuesday Nite Mixed league is on tap this week. Going in, Team Who Gives A Split is leading with 26 points, but the next four teams, Hood River Supply, Take Ten, Gutter Dawgs and Double A Orchards can still win as they are only two points behind.
With four points available this week, three of the top five teams have matches against teams that are mathematically out of the running. You might think that gives them a slight advantage, but really, all of the teams in this league can rise up and smite anyone at any time. Let’s see how good we are at prognosticating the first half winner in the Mixed because these final key matches involve some difficult challenges.
For example, let’s look at the match between Gutter Dawgs vs. Double A Orchards who both have 24 points, two behind Who Gives A Split. Since they are bowling each other in the final match of the first half, it could be tough for either of these teams to make up that 2-point deficit. However, Double A Orchards is a powerful foursome that includes the buzzsaw hook pin busting strike artist, 205 average Brandon Kawachi, who has been white hot lately, and all-star anchor Nancy Asai. Yet, Gutter Dawgs will have a huge handicap advantage of 190 sticks per game so it’s going to take a lot of strikes to overcome that.
Advantage Gutter Dawgs.
In the next key match, Hood River Supply has 285 pins of handicap per game in their contest against Mad Skilz who are anchored by smooth 212 average Jeremy Bloom. Jeremy’s intimidating strike strings will likely be offset because Skilz will have to give 108 pins per game to Supply, so this match looks pretty even
Take Ten is led by 204 average Ken Espersen and they have 202 pins handicap in their match against Taco Tuesday, who have a huge handicap advantage with 351 pins per game. The Taco’s will get 149 pins per game from the Take Tenner’s which will be tough to overcome.
Advantage Taco Tuesday, which doesn’t bode well for Take Ten’s chance to win the first half.
Current leader and past champs Who Gives A Split are led by Pat Olson’s awesome 224 average, plus they have 212 pins handicap. Their match is against the always tough Team Nishi, who are anchored by 202 average Joey Sheirbon, but Nishi will have to give up 58 pins of handicap per game to the Splitters.
That makes the Splitters favored in this match and the probable winners of the first half of the Tuesday Nite Mixed league.
Team of the week
Jeff Miller 788
Brandon Kawachi 733
Patrick Olson 732
Skip Whitley 708
Ciena Brittle 697
3,658 Total Pins
Congratulations to Skip Whitley and Ciena Brittle on making our hot-shot team of the week. Newcomer Mr. Whitley found these lanes to his liking last week in the high scoring, fast paced Fraternal league where he made the pins dance to the tune of a super 708 series, his first 700 of the season. Skip is now knocking on the door of that magical 200 average. The right-handed pin buster from White Salmon is an avid wind surfer who got back into bowling just a year and a half ago. He bowled a lot when he was younger and we’re sure happy he’s with us now. His game is all about accuracy, he plays the lanes down and in with medium speed, a tried-and-true formula for success at Orchard Lanes.
Ciena just missed her 700 by a whisker in the Tuesday Nite Mixed, where she fashioned a beautiful 697 series. Young Ms. Brittle is a bona fide all-star who is also knocking on the door of a 200 average. Want to see how to bowl well, then catch Ciena in a pin spilling session sometime. She is simply amazing to watch. Her game is effortless, and she plays the lanes perfectly, down and in, just off of the right side with a small hook.
She is a strike machine. What to know why? OK, first of all, she’s really talented and extremely well-coordinated. She makes it look easy, which it’s not, of course, because taking four or five steps and swinging a heavy bowling ball is challenging in order to arrive in synch at the foul line to deliver the ball toward the pins. Try it sometime and you’ll understand. Ciena is pin-point accurate, which is necessary to be a good bowler. Since she rolls a medium speed small hook, she controls it with ease. That allows her to repeat every shot, like a machine, which is also necessary to be a good bowler and it facilitates competent spare making. You’ve got to make those spares to be a solid 200 average bowler.
Ciena does all of these things like a pro. As we’ve said many times before, it’s gratifying to see a woman shoot big numbers like these and make the team of the week. Ladies, you can do it too, just emulate Ciena’s game, it’s textbook and it’s right in front of you.
By the way, this is why bowling is such a great game: Women can beat men. You can’t say that about many sports.
In the most pins over average department last week, we had some nifty scores. Brandon Kawachi’s big bending curve ball came to life again, finding the 1-3 pocket with astounding regularity like he used to do when he was bowling regularly, as he notched his big 733 series in the Mixed. That was 136 sticks over his average, tops for all league bowlers at Orchard Lanes last week.
Bryan Mason was next as our legendary postman broke out of a long slump with a solid 687 series in the Fraternal, which was 132 pins over his average. Skip Whitley was 126 pins over his average with that milestone 708 that he tossed in the Fraternal. Rising star James Klugel was 118 sticks over his average in the Industrial, where he racked up a mighty fine 664 set. Ciena Brittle’s big 697 series in the Mixed was 115 pins over her average and finally, it was Miller time once again — as it almost is every week because Jeff Miller’s powerful pro-like, hard-charging, big finishing roundhouse, deep inside hook leveled a mountain of sticks in the Fraternal with a huge 788 series that was 107 spins over his now city-leading 230 average. Jeff’s enormous 788 set is the highest three gamer rolled at Orchard Lanes this season.
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