Summer League Recap - Week 5

Wow—week 5 of summer league already? It’s been a wild season so far, and I’m sure there are more ups and downs ahead.

I started with the GB5 and stuck with it through the 10th frame of Game 2. For Game 3, I switched to the Black Venom, but I was never fully satisfied with the ball’s response. I ended up bouncing between the two for the rest of the game. I didn’t break out the hybrid last night, and honestly, I doubt it would have made much of a difference.

We were assigned to lanes 19 and 20, which I usually perform well on—even though they're on the high end of the house. I should be very familiar with these lanes by now; we’ve bowled on them three out of the five weeks so far. Still, everyone in our group struggled last night. Most had difficulty hitting their averages, and even the two “stronger” players on the opposing team had a rough go. One guy, using a Black Widow Mania, was the only bowler out of eight who got any real motion out of his ball.

Despite the struggles, we managed to win Game 2 thanks to our handicap, but ultimately dropped the night 3–1.

My stats—and my average—took a hit. I rolled games of 135, 157, and 136. My strike percentage was just 25%, with a first-ball average of 7.65. Spare percentage came in at a weak 36%. I was 50/50 on single-pin spares, and my open frame rate hit 46%. If I had converted just two more of those single-pin spares, I could’ve added 6 pins to my nightly average.

On paper, last night should’ve been an easier match—we were up against the last-place team. But that just proves how unpredictable league nights can be. What looks easy on the schedule still has to be executed on the lanes. The team that makes their spares has the best shot at winning.

Next week, we face the third-ranked team, and we’ll be back on lanes 17 and 18—where I’ve put up some of my best numbers. Let’s see if I can bring those results to the scoresheet.