Winter League Update - Week 15

In my only league match this holiday week, my 5th-place team, The Hasbeens, was on lanes 11/12 facing the 7th-place team. This is another group that, in my opinion, should be ranked higher than they are. They have a strong lineup capable of getting hot early and shutting the door on teams that struggle to hit their averages. Their average scratch game is 710; ours is 562, giving us a 133-pin handicap advantage.

To pull out a win, our goals were simple—and the same ones we repeat every week: convert spares early and often, make lane adjustments quickly, and focus on winning each game rather than chasing big series totals. Each of us needs to add roughly 20–30 pins per game to our average to feel comfortable.

Lanes 11 and 12 have been friendly to me in 2025; however, the only time I’ve bowled on them in this league was early in the season. I shot my high series of 557 (185.7 ppg) on that pair, but in my other league my average on these lanes dropped to 167.

We managed to take Game 1 by 14 pins, but that turned out to be the high-water mark of the night. Games 2 and 3 fell apart, although they were closer than they should have been. Their anchor rolled a 247 in the last game, and we still only lost by 7 pins. We dropped another 5 points overall when we could have at least taken another game (worth 2 points).

I started off strong with a 178 in Game 1. I stayed clean through the first six frames before missing a 6/10 in the 7th, followed with two spares, then missed a 6-pin in the 10th. Game 2 was rough, with too many open frames to list. I only had one split attempt all night—the 6/7/10—which I missed. I went 5 for 10 on single pins, with the 6-pin showing up the most. I left six of them and only converted three. It was a tough night for sure, but we’ll be back next week against another strong team.

Keep striking!