Round 3
Hi All,
Match one was against Ritchie Allen. Ritchie is a relative newcomer to the tour. He has been bowling very well lately. He finished 7th at the US Open and has 1 regional win.
I started the match playing 18 on the right lane and 19 on the left.
Ritchie started the game with a couple of light shots, a 2-8-10 and 2-8 in the first two frames. I started out strike 10 pin, strike 10 pin. Ritchie then started hitting the pocket. In an effort to get the ball to the pocket after a few weak 10's on the right lane, I moved right. Unfortunately I threw he ball way wide, missed the headpin and left a wash-out that I failed to convert. We both struck in the 7th to 9th frames. Ritchie finished frst and had a chance to shut me out. He left a pocket 7-10, allowing me to win the game 223 to 192.
In game 2 I left the 2-4-5-7-8 and chopped the 5 off. I came back with a turkey and then a solid ten. Ritchie started the game with a turkey and then left a couple of weak 10's followed by a shot threw the beak (6-9-10). Frames 6 to 8 gave me three more strikes and I was back in the game. I had a chance to close the door and threw a great shot in the 9th frame for a solid 10! I doubled in the 10th, which forced Ritchie to strike on the first ball in the 10th, which he did and won the game 254 to my 236.
In the 3rd game I started with a double and a solid 9 while Ritchie left a 10 and then the 2-8 after a strike. I had another double followed this time by a 4-9 which I missed. Ritchie struck, left another weak 10 and then had a turkey. I followed my 4-9 with a solid 8 a strike and a 9 pin after the 4 fell. Ritchie went through the nose for a 6-10 and struck his 1st shot in the 10th to lock up the game and win 218-204.
In the 4th game Ritchie started with a 4 bagger while I struck, left a 4 pin and struck. In the 4th frame I decided to move a bit left since my ball was creeping high and tugged the ball for a 3-6-10. Ritchie left a 4 pin and struck in the 6th. I left a light 7 pin and after moving a bit more left and tugging the ball again I left the 4-6-10 split. I now needed a miracle, but it didn't happen as I left a soid 10 followed by another shot threw the nose (6-10) on the left lane. Ritchie left 10 pins between strikes to coast to a victory. I struck out on the left lane after making another adjustment to shoot 203, but Ritchie only needed 3 pins in the 10th frame and threw his ball straight at the head pin to win 227-203. I felt that I bowled a great match, but couldn't get the pins to fall. And then the left lane changing more than I expected didn't help my situation. Ritchie bowled well and I know that he won his next match. It will be interesting to see if he made the TV finals.
Scoresheets:
| WR | X | 9/ | X | 9/ | 9/ | 62 | X | X | X | XXX | 223 |
| RA | 71 | 8/ | 9/ | 9/ | X | 9/ | X | X | X81 | 192 |
| RA | X | X | X | 9/ | 9/ | 7/ | X | X | X | XX9 | 254 |
| WR | 54 | X | X | X | 9/ | X | X | X | 9/ | XX9 | 236 |
| WR | X | X | 9/ | X | X | 81 | 9/ | X | 9/ | 9/X | 204 |
| RA | 9/ | X | 8/ | X | 9/ | X | X | X | 8/ | X9/ | 218 |
| RA | X | X | X | X | 9/ | X | 9/ | X | 9/ | 9/9 | 227 |
| WR | X | 9/ | X | 7/ | 9/ | 72 | 9/ | 8/ | X | XXX | 203 |
I had 28 strikes in 42 pocket shots (64%).
I had 4 opens. (1-2-8-10, 2-4-5-7-8, 4-9 and a 4-6-7).
Ritchie had 24 strikes in 44 shots.
He had 24 strikes in 37 pocket shots.(65%)
Ritchie had 2 opens (2-8-10 and a rip 7-10).
Looking at the stats, the 2 extra opens I had didn't help, but Ritchie was able to string his strikes a bit better than me. Also, Ritchie not leaving splits (open) when he did miss the pocket were big factors in his win.
Walter Ray