Veteran scratch tournament bowlers in the Genesee Region are quickly finding out that there’s much more to Jared Allen than the ability to turn a three-ball bowling bag into a stereo system on wheels.
(Regular readers of Pin Points will recall a photo of the Oakfield resident with his creation on The Bowling Page in early December).
On Sunday afternoon at Legion Lanes in Le Roy, the 22-year-old right-hander captured the championship of the fourth annual Genesee Region USBC Association Memorial Scratch Eliminator. He rolled a 223 game in the final round to edge Chris Bacon, co-owner of Medina Lanes, for the $700 first prize.
Bacon had a chance to win but, needing a strike, left a 9-pin for 217. He took home $350. Craig Royce of Lima (213) and Matt LaGeorge of Leicester (206) were the other two finalists in the one-game match. They won $275 and $200, respectively.
When asked what it meant for him to win an event that featured the best bowlers in the association, Allen said, “I guess it was fate.”
Explaining further, he said that a flip of a coin prompted him to return to Le Roy on Sunday afternoon for another attempt at qualifying for the eliminator rounds – after he had fallen short during Saturday’s competition.
“Scott Shields, Kevin Bacon and I had finished bowling in our league (on Sunday morning at Scopano’s Lanes in Oakfield) and we talked about going back (to Le Roy for the final qualifying squad at 1 p.m.),” he said. “We finally decided to flip a coin. If it came up heads, we went; tails we didn’t.
“It came down to a coin toss.”
Spurred on by the coin flip that came up “heads”, Allen and his buddies took the ride east on Route 5, put their entry fees on the table and gave it one more shot. Allen rolled 851 for four games, and ended up as the squad leader. Shields also made it to the eliminator match game round.
Allen went on to roll 225, 242 and 246 games in the eliminator rounds to make it to the final match.
“Everyone was surprised I made it in there,” said Allen, who works in the parts department at Cummings & Bricker in Batavia . “I got lucky, I guess. Not many people were playing (the lanes) where I was playing. I was standing in the middle, rolling it over the fourth arrow and it came back into the pocket just about every time.”
The tournament drew 92 entries, with one out of every five bowlers per squad – plus the top two 50-and-over bowlers not making the cut and a one-game Desperado squad winner – advancing to the eliminator match game round.
Allen is no stranger to high scores as he already has certified 300, 299, 298, 297 and 296 games to his credit.
“I’m working my way down the scale,” he joked.
He said he took some of his Sunday winnings to “fill my truck up with gas for the first time in three months” and will spend some of it to update his bowling equipment with an eye on future tournaments.
As he learns more about the technical aspects of the sport, Allen is a sure bet to win many more tournaments. He has a style and delivery that help him to consistently make quality shots – and he has a positive attitude to boot.
TOURNAMENT RESULTS:
Qualifiers
Saturday noon – Craig Royce, Lima, 939; Scott Culp, Lima, 902; Adam Philp, Caledonia, 899; Dave Montemarano Jr., Batavia, 884; Chris Bacon, Medina, 879; Tom Rohl, Le Roy, 860.
Saturday 3 p.m. – Brian Weber, Perry, 969; Josh Burch, Warsaw, 857; Mickey Hyde, Le Roy, 855; Don Parrott, Warsaw, 847; Curtis Foss, Medina, 841.
Sunday 10 a.m. – Matt Slocum, Perry, 920; Eric Galton, Portageville, 918; Justin LaGeorge, Leicester , 900.
Sunday 1 p.m. – Scott Shields, Albion, 884; Jared Allen, Oakfield, 867; Kelly Rounsville, Dansville, 857; Marty Smearing, Livonia , 857; Matt LaGeorge, Leicester , 854.
Desperado winner – Scott Allis, Medina , 277.
Senior spots – Dana Freeman, Silver Springs, 893; Kevin Gray Sr., Warsaw , 880.
Eliminator Rounds
Round 1 – Lanes 1-2 (top 2 advance) – Culp 250, M. LaGeorge 217, Smearing 212, Rounsville 202; Lanes 3-4 (top 3 advance) – Foss 248, Galton 218, Hyde 204, Allis 200, Burch 155; Lanes 5-6 (top 2 advance) – Allen 225, Philp 203, Montemarano Jr. 192, Freeman 160; Lanes 7-8 (top 3 advance) – Parrott 227, J. LaGeorge 216, Bacon 211, Gray Sr. 201, Rohl 179. Those eliminated won $80 each.
Round 2 – Lanes 1-2 (top 2 advance) – Hyde 233, M. LaGeorge 232, J. LaGeorge 227, Galton 226; Lanes 3-4 (top 2 advance) – Philp 257, Culp 227, Weber 168; Lanes 5-6 (top 2 advance) – Allen 242, Royce 235, Shields 213, Foss 169; Lanes 7-8 (top 2 advance) – Bacon 214, Slocum 212, Parrott 187. Those eliminated won $120 each.
Round 3 – Lanes 3-4 (top 2 advance) – Royce 223, M. LaGeorge 192, Slocum 191, Philp 184; Lanes 7-8 (top 2 advance) – Allen 246, Bacon 222, Culp 196, Hyde 181. Those eliminated won $150 each.
Finals – Lanes 5-6 – Allen 223, Bacon 217, Royce 213, M. LaGeorge 206. First place, $700; second, $350; third, $275; fourth, $200.
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LINDSAY BAKER ON TARGET
Readers of last week’s column may remember I wrote about Lindsay Baker of Buffalo , the niece of PBA standout Tom Baker, and her victory in the Sunset Lanes Open in Rochester earlier this month.
Well, it seems that the 24-year-old former student-athlete at the University of Nebraska is making good on her promise to “bowl for a living.” She’s bowling in California this week at the Earl Anthony Memorial Women’s Series event, and led all competitors in the Tour Qualifying Round Tuesday to earn one of 20 spots in the tournament.
Her score of 1,485 for seven games – a 212 average – was 150 pins better than the second-place finisher. As a result of her fine bowling, she now will compete for the opportunity to reach the championship match at 1 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.
(Mike Pettinella’s Pin Points bowling column appears every Thursday during the bowling season in the print and online editions of The Daily News. If you have an item of interest for his column, contact him at mikepett2002@yahoo.com, at 343-3736 or by mail at 55 Edgewood Drive , Batavia ).