LORAIN — After admittedly falling “on the wrong side of life” for a number of years after failing to realize his Professional Bowlers Association dreams in his early 20s, the now 45-year-old Mike Eaton Jr. recommitted himself to bowling about two years ago.
Part of that commitment was beginning to write in a personal journal about a month-and-a-half ago.
It was just five simple words: I am a PBA champion. But the Byron Center, Mich., right-hander didn’t just write it once.
He wrote it three times in the morning, six times in the afternoon and nine times at night, every day — those same words — filling a journal that stands about two inches thick today.
Now, the former non-winner on the PBA Tour can officially make that claim.
Eaton, the No. 1 seed following the eight-game qualifier, fought his way through two three-game matches and the semifinals before stopping 11th-seeded Chandler Stevens 213-210 in the final match of the PBA Ohio Lottery-Bowler X-Baldo Campana Memorial Central Open in claiming his first PBA title during a 15-year pro career Saturday at Rebman Recreation.
“It feels better than I thought it would. I bowled on and off before recommitting myself to the game about two years ago,” said Eaton, whose family owns and operates Spectrum Entertainment Complex in Wyoming, Mich. “I told myself, you’re not getting any younger, so if you’re going to do this thing, you’d better figure it out soon and get out there and do it.”
Eaton had a strong amateur career coming out of Wichita State University before joining the tour for the first time in 2001. But when the PBA went to the exempt tour under new ownership in 2004, he didn’t have enough points to continue.
“I journeymanned it for a few years after that, but I was so disappointed that I wasn’t on tour that it pretty much consumed my life,” Eaton said. “I didn’t handle it very well, and just fell on the wrong side of life.
“I actually didn’t really bowl at all from my mid-20s to my late 30s, at least competitively.”
But armed with a new purpose and his own words, Eaton was ready when he found himself tied at 1-1 during his first two matches against Jose Modic and Bailey Mavrick, respectively.
After closing out Modic in Game 3, he finished with the last eight strikes in Game 3 to stop Mavrick and advance to the semifinals against two-time PBA champion Kyle Cook of Centerville.
Just as in his previous match, Eaton had a tight match early until running off four straight strikes to take a 20-pin lead in the eighth frame. But a 4-6 split in the ninth frame nearly cost him.
“It’s amazing how just the smallest of things that do or don’t go your way can make such a big difference,” Eaton said. “All of these guys are really, really good and just one hit here or there can make such a big difference.”
That one hit hurt Cook in the 10th frame. After a strike in the ninth, he needed a strike on his first ball in the 10th to have a chance. He left a 10-pin en route to a 216-206 loss.
Stevens, a 28-year-old Archbold right-hander who is a factory worker for Sauder Manufacturing during the week, had sweeps in his first two three-game matches against Brunswick’s Eric Bator and Daniel Farish.
He then struck on six of seven shots from the third through ninth frames — leaving only a solid 8-pin in the run — en route to stopping Versailles’ Michael Davidson 214-202 to earn his title shot.
“Not really … I was able to get a little rest in. It was warm in here,” said Stevens when asked if the wait between matches for Eaton was a problem.
But Eaton got a tip from watching Stevens’ semifinal match against Davidson which helped lead him to victory.
“His line was inside of me and my ball started pushing down lane. I saw the same thing happen in his match against Michael,” Eaton said. “So I thought I needed to move my breakpoint a little further to the right to the friction because if I didn’t, I would lose my look.
“So I opened up a hair and got a little softer with my speed.”
This came after Eaton left a 2-4-5-8 bucket in the third frame and got only three pins. He then left a 4-6-7 split before making the move. Meanwhile, Stevens started with three strikes.
That’s when the match changed.
Stevens left three 4-pin spares in the next four frames along with a 4-9 split when he got just one pin. Meanwhile, after his move, two open frames and throwing the Purple Hammer he used all day, Eaton ran off three strikes before leaving a 7-pin in the eighth frame to cut a 40-pin deficit to 20.
Stevens, riding a double into the 10th frame with a chance to close out the match, went high and left a 6-10 spare. He covered it, but then came up light on his fill ball for a seven-count.
Eaton, with a strike up in the ninth, needed a double and eight in the 10th to win. He struck out.
“I just threw that first shot just awful. The last one, I just barely got something on it and it didn’t hook so I only got seven,” Stevens said. “It was pretty much two bad shots. But I was the runner-up so it was a successful weekend. I can’t complain.”
Eaton did something in that match he doesn’t normally do — go first.
“I don’t like to start a match. I like to have the other guy throw first. But I felt I needed to finish on the right lane and I thought to myself, screw it, you’r going to have to throw it to win it,” said Eaton, who won $2,200. “I knew that when the match started that I was going to challenge myself.
“I’ve gotten close a few times, but I told myself that this is mine today and I was not going to let anyone take it from me.”
Among other area players, North Olmsted’s Dennis (DJ) Assaff, Bator and Cuyahoga Falls’ Tyler Meredith each earned $600 after advancing to match play and dropping their opening matches by identical 2-0 scores. All three joined the field via the pre-tournament qualifier two weeks ago.
So what about Eaton’s journal?
“I’m going to keep on doing it,” the emotional Eaton said. “It worked today, didn’t it?
NOTEBOOK: The tournament drew an 80-player field. It took 1,662 total pinfall over the eight qualifying games, an average of 207.75, to make the cut for match play. It took a mark of 1,572, an average of 196.50 on the PBA Don Carter 39 pattern to earn a cash spot. … Eaton was the qualifying leader with 1,783 (222.8 average), 31 pins ahead of Davidson. It was the only game Eaton led during qualifying. … Match play included two rounds of three-game match play to determine the final four in brackets, with the final four meeting in single-game elimination matches. … Among other area players, Cleveland’s Dan Mariott finished 20th (1,621), to earn a cash spot. Other area finishers included Cuyahoga Falls’ Bryce Oliver (58th, 1,466), Louisville’s Joe Hostetler (65th, 1,432), Northfield’s Ryan Liederbach (68th, 1,417), Akron’s Vicktor Varner (77th, 1,361) and Millersburg’s Scott Galloway (78th, 1,356). … There were no 300 games, with Davidson having the high game of 289. .. Cody Reed earned the final cash spot by just one pin over youth participant Ian Wright of Westland, Mich., one of three youth participants. … Two two-handed righties and two left-handers made the final 16, with Mavrick being the lone two-hander to reach the final four.
See complete standings and results here:
https://www.r2sports.com/website/standings.asp?TID=39070
VERBLE TOPS PBA50 REGIONAL
While the regular Central Region event was completing play, the PBA50 version of the Ohio Lottery-Bowler X-Baldo Campana Memorial Open was being contested on the other side of the 48-lane center.
Larry Verble,, a 56-year-old Mason, Mich., right-hander, topped the 51-player field with 1,864, 31 pins ahead of Rootstown right-hander Dean Billings.
The top 16 players return at 8:30 a.m. Sunday for 12 games of round-robin match play, which concludes with a position round. Bonus pins are awarded for wins and ties in matches.
Maineville’s Bill Watson earned the final match-play spot with 1,702, just two pins ahead of Gary Schluchter.
Among area players, Akron’s Don Hogue finished 23rd with 1,634; Wadsworth’s Dale Csuhta was 26th with 1,609; North Canton’s Mike Parker was 40th with 1,533; and Burbank’s Jim Dilyard was 47th with 1,433.
See complete standings and updates here: