Congratulations to Corey Major, who bowled his first 300 game tonight in the Adult/Junior league. As I was able to confirm with Rose Hamilton, Corey, at age 14, is now the youngest bowler with a 300 game at Westgate Lane, pending formal USBC certification.
Sean Richard sent me the video below:
I threw another two-game practice session today to spend some more quality time with the redone Alpha Crux. I started near where I wanted to be on the lane, but Stephen (and, to a lesser extent, Bob Hamilton) helped me get lined up.
When I finally did find the pocket, I left a flat 10, so that was a good time to try the Art of Bowling tip on finger position to help carry the flat 10. The strikes started coming when I tucked my pinky in, so I knew the next flat 10 would require a move. I threw my best shots near the end of the second “game” (I kept resetting to full racks.), one mixer and the other three dead flush with the carry.
I’m really preparing for something special this weekend, which will very likely feature the Alpha Crux.
I had to miss my league’s banquet to cover NEBA, but Si brought my prize money Sunday. I won high scratch game in men’s “C” (with my 255 on the last night), and the team won 2nd high scratch game (not including the usual point money). I don’t know what individual prize Steve won, but I knew Si was high average in his division, as well as most improved male.
Hope to see everyone in the fall. 🙂
Following a thrilling tie at 236, Billy Trudell defeated Jalen Scott-Jones 49-40 in a 9th & 10th frame roll-off to claim his 2nd title (first singles) at the NEBA Westgate Lanes Open. The title match punctuated a fun match play portion of the tournament, which also saw 16-year-old Nate Purches take down New England bowling legend Mike Lichstein in the first round, as well as a sibling “rivalry” match in the semifinals (Billy Trudell vs. his sister Nicole).
The videos of the final match and winner’s interview may be found on NEBA’s Facebook page.
Westgate’s cashers were Aaron Major & Kevin Thibeault, who both reached the quarterfinals, along with Alex Aguiar & Shawn Hagan; Jim Ferguson was high senior out of the money.
Sunday’s qualifying was highlighted by Eric Copping’s 264-300-290 for an 854 (first three of five) on the 12:30 PM squad, and a 290 by Bill Webb and a 299 by Brian Boghosian on the 9 AM squad.
Blanket congratulations to all, and thank you to the NEBA tournament staff for running another great tournament.
A couple of notes/observations from tonight’s NEBA squad:
I found a YouTube channel, Art of Bowling (not to be confused with Jason Belmonte and Diandra Asbaty’s International Art of Bowling), which belongs to New York City-based Silver coach Arthur O’Connor. The channel has lots of good tips, so I decided to place the sidebar link under the coaching category rather than the general one for videos.
I’ve been having second thoughts about my Alpha Crux, which was originally a pin-down layout for an early roll. However, I roll a slower ball, so the early ball was not optimal. I had Kevin redrill the ball pin-up, with the thought that the surface will make it go harder off the spot.
My axis (PAP) has changed a lot since I learned a modern release, and is now 5.25″ over, 1.125″ up. The resulting layout is 75° X 4.5″ X 30° (if you want the older notation, 4.5″ X 6″ X 2″). The weight hole is also gone, as I wanted the ball to still be legal when weight holes become illegal in the 2020-21 season.
Trying out the ball today (thanks for the oil, Bobby), the ball does indeed go longer, but I wasn’t getting the back-end move I was hoping for, so Stephen took the ball surface up to 4000 Abralon. I found I was carrying a couple more mixer strikes, and my last shot on 57 was dead flush and carried all ten. I’ll need more practice, but the change looks promising.
As announced by the BPUSBC above, Aaron Major threw 279-268-257 for an 804 series tonight in the His & Hers league. Aaron actually needed a 266 third game to break Jim Ferguson’s association record average, but Sean Richard reported to me that Aaron left a stone 8 pin in the penultimate frame, which cost him the record.
Congrats again, anyway, Aaron! 🙂
The Pepsi league season also ended with a bang last night, with Shawn Hagan putting up a trey, the last shot of which is shown below:
Nice game! 🙂
“$eany Ka$h” has been bowling the Westport Trios league at Holiday Lanes on Monday nights rather than the Pepsi league. While it took him until the last night, he finally broke through last night, posting 267-266-277 for an 810 (see above). WTG! 🙂
This post has been the “by the numbers” post in the past, but I decided call it “season in review” since I started bowling in a second league. I went back to bowling only on Wednesday night, so there will be no analysis of Sunday night (which I still had nine games in as a sub).
On Wednesday night, I was about eight pins under my 11-year average in the league (176.14), so let’s see if the BowlSK stats show a trend, first ball first (last season before the pipe):
Strike percentage: 39.8% | 32.5%
Pocket shots: 71.1% | 59.1%
Carry percentage: 53.1% (404/761) | 49.2% (304/618)
Double rate: 40.3% (165/409) | 32.9% (107/325)
Average first-ball count: 8.9 | 8.6
Average first-ball non-strike count: 8.1 | 7.9
I actually felt I was throwing better shots, but not really getting rewarded for it, though I missed the pocket more, as well.
Let’s see what happened on spares:
Overall spare percentage: 56.9% (353/620) | 56.0% (378/675)
Single-pin spare percentage: 67.8% (206/304) | 70.5% (208/295)
Multi-pin spare percentage: 60.0% (129/215) | 58.2% (163/280)
Makeable (non-split) percentage: 64.5% (335/519) | 64.5% (371/575)
Split conversion percentage: 18.4% (18/98) | 7.0% (7/100)
Washout conversion percentage: 11.8% (2/17) | 29.0% (9/31)
Percentage on single 10 pin: 54.9% (62/113) | 56.0% (56/100)
Percentage on single 7 pin: 69.5% (57/82) | 71.9% (46/64)
What stands out here is that I improved on my single-pin spares, including both corner pins. I’d probably like to make 80% of my single pins, and I’m getting there. Note: I left 100 splits and only converted 7 of them, so, when I made a mistake on first ball, I generally paid for it.
If you’ll look at my spreadsheet log (in the sidebar), the 338 was an outlier. Conditions were bad, but I said nothing because it’s my job to adjust to the conditions, and, if I don’t, I deserve to lose, because, after all, both teams are on the same lanes. Also, 39 & 40 continued to be a favorite pair (180 average), but so was “Hakim’s pair” (47 & 48, on which I averaged 183). Final word: I’ll take my 170 composite average.
As released by NEBA in the above post, the lane condition for the coming weekend’s Westgate Lanes Open will be Kegel Broadway, a pattern that was used in the Pepsi league this season. I hope to see everyone there.
Congrats to BPUSBC Hall of Famer Bob Hamilton, who had a 300 game on the Westgate Mixed League’s position night, which was his second in the league’s last three weeks. I’m not sure, but his team may be in that league’s roll-off next week.
Congrats again! 🙂
Congratulations to Rose Hamilton, who was presented with the 2019 Michael Z. Eramo Coach of the Year Award last weekend at the youth state tournament. It’s a well-deserved honor. 🙂
Note: The post above also has links to the unofficial tournament results. I will post about results again when they become official.
Above is the list of state youth award winners for the 2017-18 season from the BPUSBC centers, as they were presented at the state youth tournament in Pittsfield. Blanket congratulations to all.
Facebook post with the “live recap” below:
With only one more week to go, Gino Beniamino threw a 298 game in the Pepsi league last night. WTG! 🙂
Finalists of Apr. 28 NAT Over/Under (45) doubles event at East Providence Lanes (L-R): Champions Angel Hernandez & Hakim Emmanuel, runners-up Bob DiMuccio Jr. & Sr. (Photo courtesy of Northeast Amateur Tournament)
The Northeast Amateur Tournament reported on Facebook (must be logged in to view) that Hakim Emmanuel, with partner Angel Hernandez, defeated Bob DiMuccio Sr. & Jr., 499-464 (with handicap), to win their inaugural Over/Under 45 doubles event on April 28 at East Providence Lanes.
This is a first time for the NAT on this blog: Mike Montijo recorded the final match, which is linked here.
With the four points from the vacant, Let’s MixEm Up finished the second half in 14th place. Last Empire won the second half, so Wednesday night’s roll-off will be between them and Party of Six, the first half winners.
Congrats to AJ “Big Country” Voisine, who had a 300 today in the team event at the Mass. open state tournament in Auburn. Chuck Paige provided the video below:
My Week 35 bowling, frame-by-frame
With better carry late, this could have been in the 7s, but it’s still a higher 6 if I make my single pins. It turned out my best game of the season would come on the last night, my 255 in the first game. It was also my only 6 in this league this season.
Result: 255-203-157=615
Final average (96 games): 168
Average for last 9 games: 180
Final composite average (105 games): 170
We were bowling the vacant without Eric all night and Si for the first game, but we easily won all four, with the three of us all making contributions.
After splitting 2-2 with Creeden’s Mustangs, Let’s MixEm Up is in 15th and will bowl the vacant tonight in the position round. Last Empire is the leader, three points ahead of Stacked, 10 points ahead of Sweet Rolls, and 11 ahead of Creeden’s Mustangs.
I had the high scratch and handicap game in my division last week.
Rob Young emailed me a couple of Westgate scores yesterday from Sunday at the state tournament, Rob himself with a 290 in team, and Brian Egan with a 298 in doubles. Good bowling, guys! 🙂
According to a Facebook post from Joey Nereu (which was not shareable), a member of Mop Nation Militia out of Westgate Lanes, Roland Sandefur, won the UBA Last Team Standing event yesterday at AMF Circle Lanes in East Haven, CT, along with Jim Handy and Jayme Silva. Congrats guys!
According to the recap he posted on Facebook, Sean Richard had 236-290-278 for an 804 in singles at the Mass. open state tournament in Auburn. He had decent scores in his other events, coming away with a 2,226 all-events score. Good bowling! 🙂
Per the post above, Pepsi leaguer Ed Ashbaugh had a 300 game last night in the Thursday Night Mixed league at Trade Center Bowl in Falmouth, which, judging from his other recent posts, was his first in that house. Congrats! 🙂
Full disclosure: Ed Ashbaugh recently became the new proprietor of Trade Center Bowl.
Sean Richard had a rare choke on a 300 last night, finishing a game out with a 297, but I can’t let it be said that he didn’t have an excuse: He became a grandfather for the first time this week, so congratulations to Seany, his son Matt, and Amanda, the mother.
As reported by the Bay State Open in the above Facebook post, Joe Fletcher defeated Ken Camille Jr., 300-202 (with handicap) to win the Mulligan Singles event on Apr. 13 at Westgate Lanes. The format allowed one “mulligan” per game on a first ball, including fill shots at full racks in the 10th frame. Note: 300 games where mulligans were used were ineligible for USBC certification.
You may watch the final match below:
My Week 34 bowling, frame-by-frame
I mostly struggled early, but when I did find my good ball and line, I reeled off five in a row for what was close to my high game for the season.
Result: 137-156-230=523
Average (93 games): 167
Average for last 9 games: 167
Next week’s AVG+1 score: 536
Composite average (102 games): 169
We had our full four, but Eric had to leave after two games because of a family emergency. We lost the first game big, but won the other two to split the points.
After failing to win points from Livin on a Spare, Let’s MixEm Up is in 14th place, 22 points behind Last Empire, who lead Stacked by three points, and Sweet Rolls, 10th Frame Magic, and Creeden’s Mustangs (our opponents tomorrow night) by nine points. This being the last week before the last position round of the second half, I’ll run down the leaders’ match-ups below:
Si had the high scratch game and series in his division last week.
