NORTH CANTON — After the PBA50-PBA60 Doubles Central Open ended Sunday at Park Centre Lanes, Brad Angelo and Tom Adcock were heading in different directions.
It was going to be a long drive for both — made longer by what occurred during the final game.
After heading into the Game 8 position round with a 106-pin lead, the two right-handers came up 15 pins short in the final tally as PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III and Sam Maccarone earned the title. They had 7,660 to the champions’ 7,675.
“We bowled great together all weekend. Every game, when one was down, the other one struck,” said Angelo, a 52-year-old Lockport, N.Y., resident and one-half of the defending doubles team. “You knock on the door long enough and you’ll break through.
“I was fortunate to get a win, but it does sting the way it happened here. That four-hour drive home is going to feel like 12.”
Bohn and Maccarone stopped Adcock and Angelo 488-459 during Game 6 of match play before also winning the final matchup 471-400.
But the way it occurred is what was stinging to Angelo, who also finished second with Bo Goergen in similar fashion during the 2020 event before breaking through last season with the victory.
“In Game 6, I big-foured on the left lane twice, and they barely beat us that game,” said Angelo after the team’s only two losses came to the champions. The two teams were tied at the top heading into Game 6.
But faced with needing a mark in the 10th frame of that final game to squeeze out a victory, Angelo left an 8-10 split.
“I struck in the eighth on that lane, and I thought I threw a good shot in the ninth, but I 4-pinned,” said Angelo, who averaged 233.75 during the tournament. “I wanted to make sure I got the ball there, and I did. I probably got it in a little bit.”
Needing to strike on his first ball in the 10th to remain alive, Bohn did just that — with the help of a messenger pin that took out the 7-10 split late.
“Parker just gets those pins dancing … it’s so tough to watch,” Angelo said. “It’s not even funny anymore because you know he’s going to do it. That pins just came flopping over.
“More power to him … that’s why he’s one of the greatest of all time.”
Adcock, who was making his first Park Centre appearance, averaged 229.06 for his 16 games as Goergen’s substitute.
“It was a last-minute thing. Bo has to have knee surgery so I called Tom to see if he was able to bowl,” Angelo said.
Adcock had considered bowling a few years ago with Walter Ray Williams Jr., but they instead bowled together in a doubles event in Canton, Ga.
“The shot held up OK for us and the friction was right,” Adcock, a 60-year-old Forsyth, Ill., right-hander said. “You just had to get the ball to the spot.”
In the final game, the pair finished with 400 as Adcock had 214 and Angelo 186. The champions put up 481, with Bohn finishing with 243 and Maccarone 228, and adding the 50 bonus pins for the win.
Angelo hopes to return with Goergen next season after two seconds and a first. Adcock may also be back with a different partner. Adcock and Angelo were the third seed entering Sunday’s action.
“I may have Jason Queen,” Adcock said, “if he will drive it. He turns 60.”
NOTEBOOK
PRO-AM STANDINGS: Final results for Friday’s Fred Smith-Dick Behra Memorial Pro-Am were announced by tourney director Charles Spencer. Bowlers rolled three games of nine-pin, no-tap with handicap and their scores were added to those of their pro partners. Adult and senior winners can pick up their earnings at Park Centre. Here are the final standings by division:
Special Olympics: 1, Kenny Seymour; 2, Tristan “Peterbilt” Broom.
Women: 1, Tiffany Schmitt; 2, Amy Ritchey.
Collegiate: Patrick Ritz.
Men: 1, Daniel Burt; 2, Chad Ritchey; 3, Shawn T. Neubauer.
Seniors: 1, Dave Dunham; 2, Glen Witsamen; 3, David Miller.
Youth: 1, Erik Rider; 2, Zac Abbott; 3, Donivin Gillono.
High individual actual series for non-pros was by Abbott, a Lake High School sophomore, with 756, including a 300 game. Top actual in each division were Schmitt (women) 681; Ritz (collegiate) 684; Chad Ritchey (men) 721; and Miller (seniors) 720.
The event drew 62 entries with enough money raised to fund a $500 scholarship to be awarded in the spring to an eligible high school senior, according to Spencer. Details on how the scholarship will be administered will be announced in 2023.
FIRST 300: Ray Edwards had the tourney’s first 300 in Game 2 of match play. He and partner Sam Ventura, who has one previous win here with Jeff Zaffino, finished fifth overall.
LEADERS FALL: Qualifying leaders Jeff Zaffino and Eddie Graham went just 3-5 in match play, including dropping their first four matches, to finish fourth overall with 7,390.
OTHER CHAMPIONS: Troy Lint and Darryl Bower, who won this title two years ago, finished third with 7,483. … Angelo was hoping to become only the second two-time champion of the eighth-annual event, which has undergone format changes over the years. Mike Henry and Tom Carter teamed to win the first two events. Carter bowled with Jeff Johnson this year and finished 11th.