Boatman37's scores

[boatman37]

Well the struggle bus has returned. Turns out the Black Widow was not cracked. PSO spun it up and cleaned it up. Scratch was gone. Also got my new spare ball. Brunswick Black Rhino Pearl. Got the 7 2/3 times in practice and 2/3 in the games so that helped. Thumb was a little tight so he is going to open it up a little for next week.

So on to the games. Ugh....I had to move about 3 boards left from where I normally stand so a little more oily out there than usual. Did s decent job of hitting the pocket all night but just couldn't get the carries and absolutely sucked at picking up my spares tonight. I'm a left and missed the 10 or 6-10 about 4 times tonight. Should be one of the easiest to get for me. And I was using my strike ball so not like I wasn't used to the ball. I missed more spares than I got and could not get the strikes. I hit what I thought was a good pocket hit and nothing. Make an adjustment and hit a little lighter and still no strike. Make another move to hit higher and still nothing. I don't think it was the conditions because we had some great scores on our lanes tonight (2 700's).

Game 1: 167 (6 strikes, 2 spares, 4 opens (struck out in 10th))

Game 2: 160 (5 strikes, 2 spares, 4 opens (s strikes in 10th))

Game 3: 174 (4 strikes, 3 spares, 3 opens (opened in 10th))

First ball average: 8.76

PSO's team was beside us. First game they had a bowler start with 10 strikes and rolled a 287 and 2nd game a different bowler on their team started with 10 strikes and ended with a 289.

Might do Friday for a few practice games to get used to that new spare ball. It's a Brunswick Black Rhino Pearl. Got the 7 pin 2/3 times tonight which is what I wanted it for. Just need some practice with it.

[boatman37]

Overall it was a good night. We won all 3 and moved from 4th to 2nd. In the last 4 weeks we are 26-2 so have been on a tear (3 7-0's and 1 5-2). Teammates killed it tonight. One had a 678 and one a 664.

I used my new stance with the ball up near my chest instead of down by my hip. That helped. I hit my mark about 90% of the time tonight but just couldn't get strikes. Either hit a little light or a little high. 1/2 way through the 2nd game I started turning my shoulders towards my mark instead of swinging my arm out towards my mark. Just seemed so much more natural and smooth. Teammates said I looked smoother and more comfortable on my approach tonight. Covered most of my spares tonight (even converted a 5-10 and a 1-3-6-7).

Game 1: 177 (4 strikes, 4 spares, 3 opens (1 split))

Game 2: 166 (2 strikes, 5 spares, 3 opens (1 split))

Game 3: 218 (6 strikes, 3 spares, 1 open (2 splits))

Series: 561

Overall average: 173.5

First ball average: 8.69

Really struggling with 7's and surprisingly 10's. Finally getting more consistent with my spares though so if I can start carrying strikes it should really help my scores

[boatman37]

Well really struggled tonight. It was rough. It all started in practice. Couldn't hit the pocket no matter what I did. It's the last night of the regular season. We were in 2nd coming into the night. 2 of the other teams guys pre-bowled. 1 struggled and 1 bowled good so kind of offset each other but their 3rd game was their best for the 2 pre-bowlers so knew that would be our toughest one. The first game we won by 58. 2nd game we won by 30. 3rd game they crushed us. They won by 90. Total pins? 3395 to 3393. They got total by 2 pins. I opened in the 10th and our anchor rolled a 9 (left the 7 and he is a leftie). He rarely misses the 7 but missed it this time. If he had got it he would have only needed 2 pins for us to win. Can't blame him though. He bowled about his average for the night (had a 595 his average is 199). His dad has a 204 average and he rolled a 553.

Me, I found after the first game that I was turning my shoulders inside. I normally throw just under 17 MPH but was constantly over 18 tonight and close to 19 on some shots. Kept hitting very high and often missing the head pin. I couldn't convert any spares tonight. I think I had more opens than spares. The 2nd game I think I fixed my shoulder rotation but was still throwing way too fast and missing my mark. At the end of the night a team member said it looked like I was rushing every shot and not taking my time at all. I told him he should have said something earlier...lol.

As a team I think we left more 7's and 10's than any other night. They just wouldn't fall.

Game 1: 147 (4 strikes, 1 spare, 5 opens). Started with 3 strikes the 2nd and 3rd were Brooklyns

Game 2: 151 (4 strikes, 2 spares, 4 opens, 1 split)

Game 3: 167 (2 strikes, 6 spares, 2 opens, 1 split)

Series: 465

Running average: 171.92

First ball average: 8.26

[boatman37]

Well I was consistent. Tonight was the placement round so we bowled the 1st place team (they have 6 guys averaging between 207 and 222). We lost the first by 104ish, won the 2nd by 45ish, and won the 3rd by 106ish. Got total pins by 101. Still didn't catch them but we could have dropped to 4th if things went bad. The 3rd place team went 7-0 and finished 1 game behind us.

So I started the night with 4 strikes. Much better than last week as I was able to hit my mark almost every shot. Just couldn't carry them. I was hitting light all night. Kept moving left and still hit light. Moved my mark to the inside a little to get more of a straight ball. Tried tucking my pinky to try to get more revs. Nothing worked. Never had so many pocket hits with so few strikes. At least I was covering my spares and even covered 2, 5, 7 split. Also covered the 1, 3, 7. Did pretty good with my corner pins too. Left a ton of 4 pins tonight (3 times). Would have been a great night if I would have had 1 or 2 more strikes each game.

Game 1: 188 (4 strikes, 3 spares, 3 opens)

Game 2: 190-clean (2 strikes, 8 spares)

Game 3: 180 (6 strikes (struck out in the 10th), 4 spares, 2 opens)

Series: 558

First ball average: 8.73

So looking at it I started the night with 4 strikes and ended it with 3 strikes. Just couldn't get any in between.

[boatman37]

Tonight was the position round. We bowled against all teams and finished 5th of 17 teams. The team we bowled ended up winning it. We 'beat' them the first 2 games even though it wasn't head to head. The 3rd game they were on fire. Their anchor had a 289 (first 10 strikes), another had a 257, and a 3rd had a 238. Their last 2 were 203 and 180.

I opened the first frame all 3 games. Struggled with spares all night. Kept hitting light again like last week so moved over further than I normally do and hit the pocket consistently. I got a few strikes but had 5 or 6 nice pocket hits that left a few 7's and I kept missing those. The last game the only way I could get a strike was brooklyn. Anything in the pocket would leave a pin.

Game 1: 201 (6 strikes, 3 spares, 2 opens (missed the 3,5 and the 4,7,8)). Threw 4 strikes in a row

Game 2: 193 (6 strikes, 1 spare, 3 opens, 1 split (missed the 6,9, the 7, the 4,6,10 split)). Threw 4 strikes in a row

Game 3: 192 (4 strikes, 5 spares, 1 open (missed the 7))

Series: 586

First ball average: 8.97

[boatman37]

Well tonight sucked. 3 of our 5 guys were pretty bad. Tonight was the top 10 or 12 teams gunning for the championship tournament style. We finished next to last. I have been having timing and speed issues so worked on that. First game was horrible. Even when I did hit the pocket I had no pin action at all. Ended with a 148. 2nd game gave up on slowing my ball and worked on my timing. It felt better but only had a 154. 3rd game was more of the same. Finally about 1/2 way through I switched to my Brunswick Rhino. Hardly any hook (it's my spare ball) but figured I had nothing to lose. 180 third game.

Game 1: 148 (2 strikes, 4 spares (covered the 2-7), 4 opens (2 splits))

Game 2: 154 (5 strikes, 2 spares, 4 opens (1 split)

Game: 3: 180 (4 strikes, 4 spares, 2 opens)

Series: 482

First ball average: 8.52

[boatman37]

Not a very productive night. It was our banquet and we have a tournament at the end of the night. $40 to enter. 22 entered. There were 3 of us on our pair and each game we move to the next pair. We started on 1 and 2, then 3 and 4, then 5 and 6. Oddly enough the even numbered lanes were very slick for us lefties (2 of the 3 were lefties on our pair). I had to move about 4 boards left of where I normally stand on the even numbered lanes and 2 boards left on the odd lanes. The other lefty said the same.

Anyway, I thought I was doing pretty good but moved too fast to pay attention to my scores. Threw a 2-7 split and missed it and didn't realize that was the 10th. 2nd game was similar. Picked up most of my spares and had a few strikes. Figured I was around 200. Nope. 3rd game I kept hitting light and leaving alot of 1, 3, 7's.

In the end with handicap I had a 650. They took the top 6 and the cutoff was a 677. I heard a few 720's and 710's being tossed around so that was likely the highs. All 6 that moved on were 210+ average bowlers. I left so not sure how it ended.

On a positive note I was 3/3 on 7 pins in practice and 1/1 in the games. I also had a 4-7 that I got the 7 but missed the 4 which is good that I would have been 5/5 on 7's tonight.

Game 1: 174 (3 strikes, 5 spares, 2 opens (1 split))

Game 2: 171 (5 strikes, 2 spares, 4 opens (1 split))

Game 3: 152 (5 strikes, 2 spares, 4 opens (3 of those were variations of 1, 3, 7))

Series: 497

First ball average: 8.59

Strikes: 40% (13/32)

[boatman37]

Absolutely horrible night. Whose idea was this summer league anyway? So the format is 2 man teams and you start on one pair against a team then after 2 games you move to a new pair against a new team. I was actually throwing pretty good and hitting the pocket pretty consistently but no strikes. I didn't get my first strike until the 6th frame of the 2nd game. Even the opposing team guys were amazed that I wasn't getting any luck. And to top it off I wasn't covering my spares. My thumb kept hanging in my 7 pin ball so really struggled with 7's. I was amazed at how many times I left the head pin and missed it on my spare. I was mainly hitting light but kept moving left and no matter what I did it was still light or in the pocket but no strike. My normal line is in between the 1st and 2nd arrow. About 1/2 way through the 2nd game I moved to between the 2nd and 3rd arrow and finally got strikes. Threw 4 in a row my first 4 shots after moving.

Moved to a new pair and decided to try my normal line. Still no luck. Moved back inside again and not much better. Just struggled with everything. Those 2 guys on that team were also amazed that I wasn't getting any carries. And for the first time since I bought that ball in February I had an oil track on it. Partially due to being inside but even when I have thrown inside before I never saw oil on the ball. In the end I was just glad to get out of there tonight.

Notice how many times I missed the head pin on spares!

P.S.: My app says 182 for game 2 but the scoreboard said 173 so not sure what happened. I looked over my app and from what I remember it looks right so no idea why the discrepancy.

Game 1: 135 (0 strikes, 5 spares, 5 opens)

Game 2: 173 (182 on my app) (4 strikes, 2 spares, 4 opens)

Game 3: 136 (3 strikes, 2 spares, 5 opens , 1 split)

Game 4: 157 (3 strikes, 2 spares, 4 opens)

Average: 150.25

First ball average: 8.52

Strikes: 25% (10/40)

Spares: 40% (12/30)

Single pin: 53% (8/15)

[boatman37]

Well it continues. I am struggling. And I know it's me. I can feel the inconsistency in my release. I also seem to be sticking but everyone was having issues with that tonight. I couldn't seem to hit the pocket all night. Either light or high. My 2nd game 3 of the first 4 frames I left the 6 pin. To top it off the first team we played the guys shot 235, 238 and 245, 220. Their averages are 214 and 198. Hard to beat that so we lost both (0-5). 2nd set the other team struggled bad so we got all 5 points.

Game 4 was split city for all 4 of us. I think I had 2, my teammate had 5 last I saw, and our opponents had about 4 each. I think the one frame all 4 of us had splits.

Game 1: 168 (4 strikes, 4 spares, 3 opens)

Game 2: 180 (4 strikes, 5 spares, 2 opens)

Game 3: 130 (1 strike, 4 spares, 5 opens (2 splits))

Game 4: 164 (4 strikes, 2 spares, 4 opens (2 splits))

Average: 160.50

First ball average: 8.44

Strikes: 30% (13/43)

[boatman37]

Still horrible. I do think some of it is the 2 man team thing and I am just exhausted bowling at that pace. I slowed down my approach tonight and got my ball speed down to a reasonable speed but the approaches were really bad tonight. To top it off my right knee was pretty sore and achy before we even started. Couldn't hit my mark consistently and when I did I was carrying anything. Threw a bunch of splits tonight and even the 7-10, which I have only left probably a handful of times in my career. On a good note I was better at covering my 7's.

Game 1: 137 (3 strikes, 2 spares, 5 opens-2 splits)

Game 2: 165 (3 strikes, 5 spares, 3 opens-1 split)

Game 3: 163 (2 strikes, 5 spares, 3 opens-1 split)

Game 4: 151 (3 strikes, 4 spares, 4 opens-1 split)

Series:616

Average:154

League average (12 games): 154.83

First ball average: 8.19

Strikes: 26% (11/42)
Spares: 51% (16/31)
Opens: 35% (15)

7 pins: 3/5 (13/31 since returning to bowling in January)