Baker format offers unique tourney

The winning Baker tourney team.
Front row in blue shirt- Nat Kesling (captain).
Second row (l-r) Daniel Farmer, Krystal Stephens, Gary Ross and Amanda Ross.
Photo courtesy of Krystal Stephens

One of the most popular local tournaments took place this past Saturday at the NRV SuperBowl. The Baker Tournament was a huge success as 28, five-person teams competed for the title.

The winning team consisted of Nat Kesling, Krystal Stephens, Gary Ross, Amanda Ross and Daniel Farmer. Kesling was the team’s captain.
Using this intriguing format, each team member bowls an alternating frame with the anchor (last) bowler rolling the 10th, 11th and possibly 12th frame of each game.

So if you don’t get to bowl every frame, what makes this such a popular tournament? To begin with, the winnings for the tournament reaches more people than most tournaments. If, like many other tournaments, the top six or seven people are “in the money”, that pool is less distributed due to fewer competing bowlers.

However, if the same prize distribution is utilized, those seven top teams now involve 35 bowlers.

Another reason for the popularity of the tournament is the team aspect. It creates an atmosphere of rooting for your teammates and pulling together. The pressure of producing for a teammate is both more stressful and fun, which is what the average bowler is seeking in both tournament and league play.

With each team have a captain, I would also like to salute the captains of those teams among the top six finishing teams. Derek Wingfield, Nathan Menefee, Alex Cox, Billy Paxton, Oliver Edwards and Connie Price’s squads finished in second through sixth place in the event.
Congratulations to all the teams in this fun-filled tournament.

Switching gears (or lanes as the bowling expression seems to fit), last week produced some outstanding bowling in league plays.

Under normal circumstances, I would see a bowler who rolled a perfect game of 300 and that person would be the “In the Zone Bowler of the Week.” However, when there are two 300 games bowled, I have the pleasure of highlighting both games of perfection.

In the Ball and Chain League on Jan. 20, Danny Lee rolled his perfect game. Johnny Dickerson, Jr. matched Lee in the Shelor Toyota Men’s League on Jan. 23 with his 300 game. The NRV SuperBowl congratulates both bowlers for this outstanding achievement.

The youth bowlers are back in action after the holidays with no apparent rust having set in during the time away from league bowling.

Andrew Carney rolled a 230 game and 620 series to lead the NRV SuperTeen League on Jan. 19. Alex Roope was the runner up with a 223 game and James Mabry had the third high game among the boys with his 222 game. Mabry also excelled with his 614 series in the Saturday morning session.

Danielle Perdue paced the young ladies with her 190 game and 540 series. Cayla Hicks followed in both categories with a high game of 188 on her way to a 500 series.

During the same morning, Damien Boyd had the two high games among the boys in the NRV SuperKids League. Boyd was joined by Brady Kirkner and Raegan Harris for top bowling honors during the morning.

Emily Lovern had the high game and series among the girls while Victoria Ratcliff and Elizabeth Ratcliff also showed high on the leaderboard.

Among the 30 team Up and At ‘Em League, the senior bowlers continued to shine. Carl Williams’ 237 game was the high mark while Bill Dalton was only six pins behind that score. Len Attisano rolled a 221 game. This league has a depth of outstanding bowlers as illustrated by the high series scores recorded by Fred Burroughs and Jug Donathan.

A trio of outstanding female bowlers also created by more than solid scores during the Wednesday league on Jan. 23. Ferne Gillispie, Doris Oliver and Wanda Garrison all had games as pleasing as their personalities.

The Golden Years Senior League was led by Jim Hawkins with scores of 216 and 212 on his way to a league high series of 620.
Jackie Betts, Pat Swain and Joy Case all proved that their games continue to shine this season. The trio was joined by a solid series score recorded by Judy Dowdy.

The year 2013 appears to have continued the momentum from the highly successful 2012 campaign for many bowlers. With most of the leagues approaching the final third of the fall/winter league season, I expect the scores will continue to climb week after week.

Until next week, good bowling to everyone!!

-Randy Thompson, special to The Burgs

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