PERRY TWP. — Adam Kutz made a ball change after the first frame. Brett McCourry called it a matter of “urethane right and urethane left.”
Marcus Marcelli said he just has this knack for “surrounding himself with good bowlers and going along for the ride.”
Whatever the reasons, the McCourry Soap Works team put up a huge team score during the Sunday Massillon Eagles 190 league at AMF Hall of Fame.
Bowling on Lanes 25 and 26 — “not exactly one of our favorite pairs,” Kutz said. — the team put up scratch games of 1,227, 1,311 and 1,274 for 3,814. The mark presently is high in the nation during the 2022-23 fall-winter season for a five-man team, according to the United States Bowling Congress.
Kutz was the high man, finishing with his ninth career 800 series (823). He was followed by Marcelli with 793, Mike Thewes with 774, Chris Miller with 714 and McCourry with 710. McCourry was coming off shooting an 800 series during the Friday Liberty Vending league at Eastbury Bowling Center.
ANOTHER 800 FOR KUTZ
Kutz, a 32-year-old Louisville right-hander, had games of 278, 290 and 255 for his milestone series. He also owns 15 300 games.
And it came after he switched balls in the first frame of Game 1.
“I started with the (Roto Grip) RST X-2. I kind of wanted to start with the (Storm) Gravity Evolve, but the tape was messed up and I didn’t have time to change it,” said Kutz, a pricing administrator for Goodyear.
“So I left a weak 10-pin on the first shot and promptly missed it. So I knew I had to scrap that ball, fixed the tape and went to the other one and struck out to the fill ball (in the 10th frame),” said Kutz, whose all-time high is 837.
In Game 2, he again left a 10-pin in the first frame, made it this time, and struck out for his 290.
“I joked with Brett when I went up in the first frame of the third game what were my odds of striking, and he said 100 percent. I left another 10-pin,” said Kutz, who made the spare.
Kutz then ran off seven strikes in a row before leaving an 8-pin in the ninth frame.
After converting, he threw “a bad shot” in leaving a 10-pin in the 10th frame, but stayed clean for the final count.
“I just felt so locked in, and we were bowling so well as a team,” Kutz said. “I wasn’t even thinking about the 800.
Kutz is averaging 228 in three of his four leagues, including the Northeast Ohio Travel League, but is down a bit on Monday at Hall of Fame.
“But we’re climbing back up a bit,” said Kutz, who recently was married to the former Kara Thomas. “I’m very happy with the way I’m throwing it right now. We saw Jeri Edwards before the season started and dialed some thing in and it felt good.”
Kutz also knew the team was on a roll that day, but …
“We were not expecting that. It’s not our favorite pair,” Kutz said. “The first game, we didn’t take the lead until late, and we needed all of it. We were joking around that we needed to shoot 3,900 to win, and we came pretty close.”
OTHERS CONTRIBUTE
Marcelli has seen this act before. Last season at Eastbury, bowling with Brett McCourry, his brother, Alex McCourry and Brian Ball, the foursome put up a 3,113 scratch three-game series, that included 800 series from Alex and Ball.
“I really wasn’t thinking much about it, but the other guys were all over it,” said Marcelli, a 41-year-old Canton Township right-hander. “We have occasionally put up big scores, but nothing like this.
“I just surround myself with good players and every once in a while I contribute.”
Marcelli, who’s six 800 series to his credit, was on his way to another before leaving a stone 8-pin in the fifth frame.
“The last frame, the lane got a little squirrelly and I got a little soft with the second shot, went high and left a fast 7,” said Marcelli, who tied his opening game with 267.
Thewes, the lone lefty on the team, went 279 out of the gate.
“I really don’t know what happened that day,” said Thewes, a 32-year-old Canton resident. “The lanes just kind of matched up for everyone and that doesn’t happen very often. There was a lot of high energy, we were scoring and it was just a lot of fun.”
Miller admittedly has been struggling at Hall of Fame this season.
“I just happened to find the line a little better. I struggle here and I don’t know why,” said Miller, a 42-year-old Beloit right-hander. “I’ve changed balls, done a lot of things. It’s not like I’m lost; I find the hole, but it’s just about consistency.”
That day, Miller started with 198, but came back strong with 279 before finishing with 237.
“I did OK, but I just had trouble finding the groove,” said Miller, who has been part of high-scoring Alliance teams in the last. “I really wasn’t paying attention to the total until like the last four shots. I thought 3,700 would be good and then I see we’re at 3,800. That’s really the highest team score I’ve ever been a part of.”
McCourry also wasn’t thinking about the scoring. He was more worried about getting “stuck.”
“If you missed, you were going to get stuck,” said McCourry, a 30-year-old Perry Township right-hander. “Kutzie, Marcus, Thewes are all among the top four averages in the league. Miller struggles here, but he just joined the party.”
Kutz said the center had just finished oiling “about 30 seconds before it started … there was so much down lane.”
McCourry mentioned the urethane being used.
But whatever could work, it did that day for the fivesome.
“It was just a lot of fun,” Thewes said.
PILING UP 300s
Tewes, Marcelli and McCourry also have shot 300s earlier in the season in the Massillon Eagles 190 league. They have been joined by Rob McPherson and Jay Kennedy, who had one Sunday in the league.