AKRON — Dean Billings and James Nolen had come to Spins Bowl-Akron on Sunday night prepared to bowl together in a doubles event.
Instead, they ended up meeting each other for a singles win.
Due to a lack of entries, the monthly Sunday Sweeper event at Spins Bowl was adjusted to a singles event with just 16 players in the field.
The 58-year-old Billings, the top seed following the qualifying round, showed his initial four games were no fluke, shooting his third 279 of the night en route to a win over Nolan, the No. 2 seed who finished with 224.
“It doesn’t feel bad at all. I think the average age of the final four was kind of high because of me,” the Rootstown right-hander said. “I still get to the line OK, I’ve got no physical ailments and I’m in pretty good shape so I should be doing that stuff.”
Billings, a regular on the PBA50 Central Region Tour, took some time off during the summer following a regional event in Lorain.
“I finished fourth in Lorain, looked at my bowling balls and said I’ve had enough, and I’m taking some time. So I took a few months off and didn’t look at my bowling balls and played a little golf,” said Billings, a sales representative for Ace Mitchell Bowlers Mart.
“I work in bowling, so I know I have to get away from it sometimes. But I got away from it long enough where I feel very good the way I’m throwing the ball right now.
“I just needed some time. The last month has been stressful at work and other things, but my game is coming around.”
Billings got the the top-seeded position in Game 3 with his second 279 before finishing with 204 to finish just one pin ahead of Nolan (997-996).
Nolen advanced to the title match with a 245-186 win over Madison right-hander Ryan Ashby when he started the match with six straight strikes.
Ashby, the No. 4 seed who left a pair of 2-8-10 splits in the first five frames against Nolen, topped 44-year-old Killbuck right-hander Ted Kays Jr. 277-164 in his opening match. Ashby had seven strikes in a row to begin that match while Kays chopped the 3-6-10 spare twice in four frames on the same lane.
But in the title match, Nolen left 4-pin and 8-pin spares in the first and third frames and a 2-8-10 split in the sixth while Billings started with five strikes.
“I had one bad release, and I knew it as soon as I threw it,” said Nolan, a 26-year-old Howland right-hander who works an electrician. “That lane was hooking more than the right. I just tugged it and didn’t hit it, and that’s not a good combination.”
The pair have teamed up before to top doubles events, including a Spins Bowl-Akron doubles sweeper last season.
“I like bowling with Dean because he brings out the best in me. But I still like to beat him … I like those bragging rights,” said Nolen, who made a ball change to the 900 Global Wolverine Dark Moss early in qualifying and stayed with it. “At least he had to shoot 279 to beat me. That makes me feel a little better.”
Despite being 58, Billings knows he still can compete against bowlers half his age. He put a lot of effort into dropping nearly 60 pounds.
“Eating right, quit drinking and staying active,” Billings said when asked about the weight loss. “At first, it hurt my game because I was moving like I was in the 240s to the foul line instead of 175. For a year it bothered me, but now it feels really, really good.
“I’m still in better shape than most 20-year-olds, and not bragging, I can get to the line better than most 20-year-olds. It’s still about fundamentals, reading lanes and making spares. You can pattern it out all you want, but you had better read that pattern well — and there isn’t much that I haven’t seen at this stage of my life.”
When did Billings know he had a chance against the field?
“Really, from the second game on, I thought I was going to win,” said Billings, who used a Brunswick Quantum EVO Pearl. “I’ve been around long enough and I know the feeling and what the ball is when I have a good look.”
How much will we see Billings, who is bowling in two leagues this season, on the tournament trail?
“I’m going to play it by ear. I’m still going to do a lot of it because I enjoy it and I’m physically still able to do it,” he added. “When I feel I can’t compete any more, I’ll let you know.”
NOTEBOOK: Tournament director Frank Dallas also had a side pot for doubles teams in addition to paying four places in singles. Billings and Nolen won that $100 pot with 1,993 total pinfall, topping Kays and Vicktor Varner by 22 pins. The latter pair won $50. … Varner had the event’s lone 300 in Game 1, with Nolen shooting 289 in Game 4. … Ashby earned the final stepladder spot with 990, 12 pins ahead of Varner. .. The tourney used a house oil pattern.
SPINS BOWL-AKRON SINGLES SWEEPER
(At Spins Bowl-Akron)
Championship round
Match 1: Ryan Ashby (Madison) d. Ted Kays Jr. (Killbuck) 277-164. Kays wins $60
Match 2: James Nolen (Howland) d. Ashby 245-186. Ashby wins $80.
Championship: Dean Billings (Rootstown) d. Nolen 279-224. Billings wins $308; Nolen wins $160.