Our event this weekend was at Bowlero Via Linda, and we had another great turnout for our 2-squad event! We had 136 total entries (107 qualifying and 29 parlays), 35 cashers, 1 in 3.88 cash ratio and paid out just over $10,000.00 in main and side event prize funds! The players bowled on a 39ft PBA Chameleon oil pattern that was very tricky, deceptive. Many of the bowlers would think that since there was more oil volume that it would play similar to a modified house shot, but with all the oil in the front and outside portion of the lanes it made it very hard to swing the ball. Because the pattern was not very long or very short, it allowed players to attack it from a variety of angles. The cut scores were pretty low with bowlers only needing to bowl a few pins over their average to advance to the quarterfinal round. The main key for the day was to leave a makeable spares and pick it up.
We would like to welcome Spencer Jefferson, James Marsh, Kodi Miller, Julius Carter, Dale Stanbridge, and Glenn Swain to the SFT family. We hope that you all had a fun time and hope to see you again. We also had a couple of Parlay Power Players in Richard Kastings, Jr., and Brandon Crandall! They both made it to the quarterfinals off their $30.00 Economy Parlay entry! We also want to congratulate Ryan John, Stephanie Smith, Mike Deutsch, and Brandon Crandall for making their first quarterfinals or their first quarterfinals in quite a while. We would have one Momma’s Mystery Pot winner with Brandon Crandall winning $490.00 with a score of 145. Your winner of the free plastic ball raffle, with an option to upgrade to any Track high performance ball for $85.00, was Erik Swanson.
Since this event was only two squads there would be no re-oil before the quarterfinals. We would see 29 bowlers in the Quarterfinals and with our 1 in 3 cut ratio, we would see the Top 3 bowlers in all three Divisions advancing to the Semi-Finals after the three quarterfinal games. The cut scores would remain on the low side, but we would have a few bowlers figure out the pattern and it would reflect in their scores. It looked like it would come down to Game 3 of the quarterfinals to determine who would be in the Top 3 of their division.
The A Division would see Sean Trzaskowski (+95) emerge as the #1 seed and he would take on Josh Williams (+67) and Ryan John (+19). The B Division would have Ron McDonald (+110) as the top overall #1 seed, and he would take on William Standefer (+71) and Scott Cook (+39). The C Division would see Melloni Zimmer (+107) as the #1 seed, and she would face off against Stephanie Smith (+91) and Darwin Hicks (+57).
The A Division semi-final match would be a nail biter as it would come down to the ninth and tenth frame to determine who would advance. Ryan John would open in the eighth and ninth frames to take himself out of the match. Ryan would finish the tenth with a double and seven to finish with a score of 183. Josh Williams would then strike in his ninth frame to force Sean to do the same. Sean’s first ball in the ninth would go a bit high and leave the 6-10, which he would pick up. Sean would then punch out in the tenth to finish at 211 and force Josh to either strike on his first ball or mark and get eight for the win. Josh would get up in the tenth frame and would leave a mixer 7-pin. Josh would pick up his spare and his fill shot would hit the pocket light for another nine count which would give him the win with a score of 213.
The B Division Semi-Final would also be a close match. William Standefer would struggle on the pair and would finish the match with a score of 182. It would come down to the tenth frame between Ron McDonald and Scott Cook. Scott would be up first as he would double in the tenth and then get nine on his fill shot to finish at 214. This would force Ron to do the same and he would need to double and get five pins to win. Ron would get up in the tenth and his first shot would hit the pocket flush and his second shot would hit a bit light but was enough to double. Ron’s fill shot on the tenth would leave a ten-pin, but it was enough to give him the win with a score of 220.
The C Division Semi-Final would not be as close as the other matches as Melloni Zimmer would put together a timely 3-bagger to give herself a lead. Stephanie Smith just could not get lined up in time and would finish the match with a score of 187. Darwin Hicks would also struggle with the pair and finish the match with a score of 195. Melloni would finish with a score of 229 to win the match and advance to the Finals.
Going into the Finals it looked like it would be a really great match as all three bowlers had pretty good Semi-Finals games. Josh Williams was looking to win his fourth AHT SFT title in his first title appearance this season. Ron McDonald was looking to win his fifth AHT SFT title and making his second Finals appearance this season. Ron’s previous finish this season was second place at AMF Tempe Village a few months ago. Melloni Zimmer was making her very first title match and looking to win her first AHT SFT title. Also, Melloni was looking to join her husband Kyle Zimmer, who won our last tournament at AMF Union Hills, in going back-to-back tournament wins. This would be a first husband/wife title holders in recent memory and to do it in back-to-back tournaments would be amazing!
The Finals would start off Ron chopping the 4-7 in the first frame while Melloni and Josh would make their spares. Ron would strike in the second frame and looked to get back into the match. Melloni would open as she would not convert the 6-10 spare attempt. Josh would leave a light seven pin which he would convert and would continue to try and get lined up. Ron would open in the third frame by whiffing on the 2-pin as he tried to hook at the spare and it would go right on by it. It seemed like the left side of the pair was giving him trouble in this match. Melloni’s third frame would see her ball hit very light as she would leave the bucket plus the seven pin, and she would go on to pick up the spare. Josh would leave the six pin in the third frame as his ball would hit the pocket high. Josh would continue to stay clean as he would pick up the spare. Ron would leave the baby split (3-10) as his ball would go through the nose on his good lane. Ron would chop the 3-pin to put himself into a hole early. Melloni would get a strike in the fourth as 3-pin would fall late. Josh would finally get lined up and would strike in the fourth and fifth frames to erase the handicap deficit. Ron would spare in the fifth and Melloni would open.
Halfway through the match and Melloni was holding a slight lead over Josh and Ron. Ron looked to get himself back into the match as he would strike in the sixth frame. Melloni would open as she was unable to convert a nine-pin. Josh would mark in the sixth to keep pace with Melloni. The seventh and eighth frames would see Ron mark in both frames to give himself a chance to jump up from third. Melloni would open in the seventh but redeem herself with a strike in the eighth. Josh would take advantage of the open frames as he would strike in the seventh and nine-spare in the eighth. Going into the ninth frame it looked like whoever could strike would determine our winner. Ron’s shot in the ninth would hit a bit light leaving the 7-pin which he would convert. Melloni’s shot would crossover and leave the 1-3-9 and would chop the 3-pin off. Josh would strike in the ninth to give him the lead going into the tenth. Ron would finish first as he would go six-spare and strike on his fill to finish at 189. Melloni would go nine-spare and get seven on her fill ball to pass Ron and finish at 197. Josh would go eight-spare and strike on his fill to finish with a score of 224 for his fourth AHT SFT title and the $1,420.00 first place prize. Congrats to Melloni Zimmer on second place and $800.00 and also congrats to Ron McDonald for third place and $500.00!
Thank you to everyone that came out today and bowled our event. Also, a big thank you to the staff at Bowlero Via Linda. We hope to see you all in two weeks to kick off our 3-day Labor Day Major at Bowlero Kyrene! Have a great week!
Bowlero Via Linda Finals - Josh Williams vs. Ron McDonald vs. Melloni Zimmer
