NORTH CANTON — Keith Zeigler believes he may have shot 800 once before while bowling with a friend at the former 77 Colonial Lanes.
“I probably had it then … threw a 279 or 278 in there,” the 36-year-old Canton right-hander said, “but I’ve also had unsanctioned 780s or 790s before.”
That’s what made his series in the Pizza Oven Classic league at Park Centre Lanes so special.
Zeigler, who is employed as a land man in the oil and gas industry and throws the ball without his thumb inserted, had games of 279, 278 and 276 for his first United States Bowling Congress-sanctioned 800 series, an 833.
He also owns just one sanctioned 300 game.
“I just kept hitting my mark and I was consistent,” Zeigler said. “And I was carrying the corners.”
Zeigler, who lines up with his right foot on the approach (unusual for a righty), was standing to the far left on the approach and looking at the 12th board as his target area. He used a Storm Nova to shoot his milestone series.
“I’ve had the ball for awhile,” Zeigler said. “Most guys around here like to use a lot of urethane when they have a lot of hand in the ball because it’s easier to control.
“I’m trying to get more comfortable throwing reactive resin.”
Only a “flat-10” in the ninth frame denied Zeigler a shot at 300 in Game 1.
In Game 2, he ran the first nine strikes before leaving a 4-pin on his first ball in the 10th frame and finishing with a stone 9-pin on his fill ball.
“The 4-pin went a little high. I went four to two (boards) right of where my target had been and it came back a little strong,” Zeigler added.
His quest for a 300 in Game 3 was over early after leaving another 10-pin in the second frame.
“It was a weak 10 again. It was bad off my hand … a well-earned flat-10,” Zeigler said. “It wasn’t my best ball, but it could have carried.”
He then ran strikes until his final ball when he left a 4-6-7-10 split for the 276.
“The first ball in the 10th was nice and clean. Going for my first sanctioned 800 I really was relaxed,” Zeigler said. “The last ball, I got a little lazy with I guess.
“I never really thought I had it until the strike in the ninth frame. People that know me, know it’s not done until it’s done. I easily could have had a pair of open frames and gone through the beak. I’ve done it in the past.”
Zeigler, who averages 218 and 223 in two Park Centre leagues, had no indication that it was going to be a big night.
“I was striking in practice, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything,” he added. “But I think I moved maybe a board-and-a-half all night.”
But the big disappointment came in falling short of the strike ball and 300 jackpots at Park Centre.
“That one I got wide in the second game cost me,” Zeigler said. “It could have gone.”
But he remained consistent and carrying corners.
“At least for one night,” Zeigler said, laughing.