NORTH CANTON — Having the proper feel is one of the important aspects of bowling.
That feel can come from a proper release, having the right equipment or just a simple read on a pair of lanes.
It turned out to be the most important aspect of Saturday’s title match during College Bowl Tournaments’ opening singles event at Park Centre Lanes.
Uniontown right-hander Joe Hostetler earned his first singles title during College Bowl events by stopping Plain Township left-hander Jeff Mowls 244-213. Hostetler has won a pair of doubles events in the series with Dylan Rinella and John Shreve.
“It felt pretty good to finally win won of these,” said the 32-year-old Hostetler, a clinical pharmacist for Neighborhood Family Practice in Cleveland. “I managed the pairs pretty well. I’m just glad it worked out.”
It almost didn’t after Hostetler used four different balls through the first four frames of the title match after earning a 225-224 win over Tim Voytko during the semifinals.
“I just couldn’t tell early if the ball was burning up or not reading the puddle, so I balled down to the (Storm) IQ, and I knew it wasn’t reading the puddle,” Hostetler said. “So I balled up and went to the (Storm) Infinite and rang a 10-pin. So I balled up again and it was fine.”
Hostetler ultimately went to the 900 Global Reality Check and ran off the final eight strikes to earn the victory. This came after his other three balls produced three 10-pins and a 2-4-10 split in the third frame.
“It was the first time I used that ball all day,” Hostetler said of his final choice. “I’m just glad it worked out.”
It was a different equipment problem that ultimately did in Mowls — his thumb slug.
After earning the No. 4 seed for the semifinal round in the 16-player field, Mowls rolled to a 269-192 win over top-seeded Josh Haddad in the semifinals, failing to strike only twice with a pair of 10-pins.
But a problem occurred in the second frame of the title match after Mowls struck on his initial shot.
“I just couldn’t get the ball off of my thumb clean. It was just too tight. That’s why I carry seven of them (thumb slugs),” the 55-year-old Plain Township resident said. “I didn’t think my thumb was swelling.
“It’s one of those things where one shot it was there, and the next one it was hanging up. What are you going to do?”
In the second frame, Mowls left a 4-6-7 split; in the third, he left a 3-9-10 split. He then switched thumb slugs.
“On the first one, I just thought maybe I hung on to the ball too long,” said Mowls, shipping manager at Paarlo Plastics who owned a pair of top five finishes during the Hall of Fame Summer Series. “So I tried it again in the third frame, and that wasn’t the case.
“I like the thumb hole tight anyway and it’s one of those things where I don’t feel it until I actually come out of the ball.”
After the change, Mowls struck in the fourth, but left a 10-pin on a light shot in the fifth. He then ran off five strikes in a row.
But it was just too late after Hostetler found his groove.
“Hey, I was the oldest guy in the field. I bowled good all day, and that’s what matters,” said Mowls, who used the Roto Grip RST X-3. “Frank (Testa) just drilled that ball for me on Wednesday and I’ve got just six games on it. I rolled it great except for two shots.”
SEMIFINAL WAS KEY
Hostetler felt lucky to have survived the semifinal match against Voytko, the No. 2 seed.
After struggling early, he was able to strike on seven of his final eight shots, including the last four in a row to win by one pin, with the final three on Lane 36.
“In practice, Lane 36 seemed like it was OK, then on the first shot it hooked up and split (6-7-10). I thought it was me because it didn’t hook that way in practice,” Hostetler said. “But then it hooked again on the next shot and, luckily, I broke off the split.
“Then I walked around the ball return on the next shot and got away with a light mixer, so I thought if I slowed down a little, it would go flush. I felt somewhat comfortable in the 10th, but not phenomenal because it was easy to leave a 7-pin or 10-pin.”
The right move at the right time. Just what the doctor ordered for Hostetler, both then and later.
NOTEBOOK: Haddad had the day’s high game of 300 in Game 1 and later added 298 in Game 4 to earn the No. 1 seed. However, he had just three strikes through nine frames and two open frames in the semifinal match against Mowls. He was the qualifying leader with 1,024 total pinfall. … Voytko, who led after games 2 and 3, missed a 2-4-5-8 spare in the fifth frame that proved to be his undoing against Hostetler. The former also had 297 in Game 1. … Mowls gained the final cut spot by 47 pins over Ray Cook, who shot 269 his final game. … Ashlee Gonzalez, the lone female in the field, finished seventh with 933. … The next College Bowl Tournaments event is a doubles tournament at 10 a.m. Oct. 22 at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes.
COLLEGE BOWL TOURNAMENTS SINGLES
(At Park Centre Lanes)
FINAL STANDINGS
Semifinals: Joe Hostetler d. Tim Voytko 225-224; Jeff Mowls d. Josh Haddad 269-192. Voytko and Haddad win $120.
Championship: Hostetler d. Mowls 244-213. Hostetler wins $320; Mowls wins $200.
