Winter League Updates - Week 16

 The Hasbeens had to roll without me Tuesday night while I was traveling and couldn’t make the event. One of the guys texted to say they took 5 of the 7 available points against a solid team. They won Game 1 by 54 pins, dropped Game 2 by 36, won Game 3 by 11, and claimed the overall total by 29 pins—all while giving up 41 pins per game in handicap. Well done, guys! They performed just fine without me. Come to think of it, they seem to do better when I’m gone most weeks, lol.

Last night, Right-Left-Right faced the No. 10 team in the league. Our performance over the past few weeks had slipped enough to knock us from 1st to 4th going into the night. We started by giving up 21 handicap pins, but since one of their players didn’t show, that dropped to a 10-pin difference. They didn’t have any true powerhouses, but a steady anchor and a streaky middle-man meant they could be dangerous at any point.

We took all 7 points in a set of close games. In Game 1, our lead-off bowler fired a 243 to set the tone, and he posted another 200+ in Game 3. We won Game 1 by 81 pins. Game 2 tightened up, but we still pulled it out by 38. Game 3, however, was the nail-biter. Heading into the final frame, it was clear the match would be decided there—and it was. Their anchor, coming off a 199, went spare–8 to put them at 641 for the game. I stepped up needing two marks to win. A strike on my first ball settled the nerves a bit. A 7-count on the next shot set the stage: one pin and we lose, two pins and we tie, convert the spare and we win. I managed to pick up the 3–6–9, and we took the game by a single pin. It felt great to sweep all 7 points and even better to be the one on the line when it mattered.

I finished the night with a 477 series (165, 168, 144). The stats weren’t my best, but I did enough to help secure the sweep. My FBA was just 8.36, with only eight strikes all night. I converted 60% of my spares (82% on makeables, 60% on single pins, and 91% on multi-pin attempts). Six splits didn’t help, and nine open frames (29%) certainly didn’t, either. A little improvement in those areas and we could’ve avoided some of the late pressure in Game 3.

Next week brings new opportunities and new challenges. I’m already looking forward to it.

Keep Striking!