Winter League Update - Trial and Error

 

THE HASBEENS — Lanes 19/20

Tonight’s performance could be summed up with the words from John 11:39, “Lord, by this time he stinketh…” We faced one of the strongest teams in the league and walked away with only two points. It was an evening marked more by frustration than triumph.

Our opponents, currently sitting in third place, are easily one of the most stacked teams in the league. Their anchor rolled a 300 earlier this year in the Monday night league and holds a 279 high game in ours. Even their substitute wasn’t a downgrade—he came in carrying a 189 average. We had our work cut out for us from the start.

Game 1 was a masterclass in how to beat a team with a higher handicap. They spotted us 140 pins per game, but you’d never know it—they came out firing. Their 854 scratch game included scores of 226, 245, and 237. Even their lowest scorer finished six pins over average.

Game 2 went our way, though I’m still not sure why. Maybe they eased up long enough for us to breathe. We won by 41 pins, and for a moment it felt like momentum might be shifting in our favor.

Game 3 came down to the final frame. My first ball in the 10th left a 5-6-10, and I couldn’t convert it. That opened the door for their anchor, who answered with strike–strike–nine to give them an 18-pin win. They took total pins and five points. I told one of their guys it was fun watching them beat us, and that we had never been whipped by a nicer group of bowlers—both statements were true.

Strikes were scarce for me, and spares might as well have been unicorns. I never felt settled all night. I can manage when my game plan works, but when it falls apart, so do I. Wrong ball? Wrong move? Speed up? Slow down? It was a puzzle I never solved, but I’m determined to learn something from it.

My single-pin leaves told their own story: three 4-pins, one 5-pin, two 6-pins, one successful 7-pin conversion, and a made 9-pin. I went 50% on the 10-pin. Many of the misses were off by less than a board—close, but not close enough. I left the 6-10 spare six times and converted only two. I’m back on the lanes Thursday with Right-Left-Right on 9/10. We’ll see what happens.

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RIGHT-LEFT-RIGHT — Lanes 9/10

Thursday was a night of highs and lows. I bowled better personally than I did Tuesday, but we still managed to claim only two of the seven points available. With only a slight handicap advantage (182 to 166), we needed to bowl at or above average to keep pace—but that didn’t happen.

We won Game 1 by just 12 pins—our only win of the night. Games 2 and 3 slipped away by 2 pins and 37 pins. Missed spares and splits dominated the narrative. Add in the fact that nearly everyone was leaving a 7-pin or 10-pin every other shot, and you get the idea. Our opponents stayed steady and beat us on total pins by 27. It was close all evening. We had plenty of laughs and enjoyed the night, but it would’ve been nice to snag one more game.

Stat-wise, I had my best night in a while. A 45% strike rate felt great. I converted 4 of 5 single-pin leaves (80%) and 42% of my multi-pin spares. The five splits, however, were brutal—especially since I didn’t convert a single one. Two stood out: a 7-9 in Game 2, followed a few frames later by an 8-10. Add a 4-6-7-10 and two 5-7s, and my misery was complete. I finished with 189, 146, and 180 for a 515 series. 

I’ll be traveling on Tuesday, so no Hasbeens appearance. I’ll be back Thursday for more action with the RLR crew.

Keep striking!