Summer League Recap - Week 1

Week 1 of my Summer League got off to a rocky start. Several lanes were still out of commission last night, forcing four teams to move their matches to Thursday in order to complete their games.

The Brunswick A-2 pinsetters on lanes 17/18 and 19/20 struggled throughout the evening. Lane 17 experienced repeated malfunctions, causing frequent delays and requiring players to manually enter scores at the settee. Our pair, lanes 19/20, wasn’t much better. The pinsetter on lane 19 dropped more 2-pins than we did all night, and lane 20 froze up multiple times. These persistent issues made our lanes the last to finish, and we practically closed the center down as we walked out.

The night started out with promise, but that hope quickly faded. A mix of missed pocket shots and poor spare shooting sealed my fate. I posted just a 15% strike percentage and a 26% spare conversion rate, with a first ball average of 7.78 pins — not ideal for a smooth night. The most frustrating stat? A dismal 1-for-7 conversion rate on single-pin spares, and just 5-for-16 on multiple-pin spare attempts. I only faced three splits across the night, all occurring in games 2 and 3. The highlight of the evening was converting a 4/8 split in the 8th frame of game 2. I went 1-for-3 on split conversions overall. Unfortunately, my 61% open frame rate — 19 opens across 3 games — really drove the nail in the coffin.

I started the night with the Game Breaker 5 and stuck with it deep into game 2. It stayed close, but never quite dialed in. I then transitioned to the Black Venom through game 3 and ended with the Destiny Hybrid as a last-ditch effort, hoping to find a strike.

It’s tough not to feel discouraged after a night like that. My series average was over 20 pins below my winter league finish. I’ll beat myself up for a couple of days, loathe the game briefly, and then regroup and prep for next week. I’m hoping to squeeze in a practice session before then.

Keep striking.