NORTH CANTON — To say Stark County bowling centers have treated Amherst left-hander John Price well would be an understatement.
With three titles last season during College Bowl Tournaments events at Park Centre and AMF Hall of Fame lanes, respectively, Price has enjoyed his trips South.
It happened again Saturday at Park Centre in another College Bowl Tournaments doubles event as the 45-year-old landscaping business owner-operator teamed with Ray Cook to earn a 446-365 win over Rob Sample and Brett McCourry and another win.
“These houses have treated me good absolutely,” Price said. “It was a good blend between the two of us. I got us there and he finished the job.”
Cook, who admittedly has been struggling while transitioning from 16- to 15-pound equipment, got together with Price after substituting a lot in Lorain County leagues.
“I’ve been subbing a lot up there and I like the people,” said Cook, a 54-year-old Munroe Falls right-hander who works in maintenance at the Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility in Massillon.
“I’ve been struggling this year and not really throwing it as well as I can with switching down to 15 pounds. He had a better look the first four games and I shot one good game. In the stepladder, I finally got to what I do best.”
During the four-game qualifier, Price shot 790 for his first three games before finishing with 207. Cook, who opened with 267 as the pair turned in a tourney-high 533 in Game 1 en route to the lead, had just 631 over his final three games. The pair ended up as the No. 2 seed for the stepladder finals, just one pin behind Sample and McCourry, who shot 510 in Game 4.
But in the semifinal match against No. 3 seed Jason Gribble and Matt Frock, Cook found his groove. While Price had just four strikes, Cook ran off the first nine before leaving a 2-pin on his first ball in the 10th frame.
With Cook shooting 278, the pair stopped Gribble and Frock 459-400. Gribble’s problem was carry as he left six 7-pin spares and struck just three times while Frock had the final four strikes for a total of seven.
In the other semifinal, McCourry and Sample combined for 460 to stop No. 4 seed Matt Bertolette and Bob Eckenrode (387) as the latter team had four opens in the match.
TITLE MATCH
After starting out spare-split in the title match against McCourry and Sample, Price made a move.
“I moved seven (boards) right, tried to stay in the oil and threw it slower,” Price said. “I got a couple of hits and a couple of 7-pins. I had to keep it in and slow.”
McCourry started with a double, but then left four straight nine-counts on his first ball, missing a 10-pin spare in the sixth. Sample left a 4-9 split in the second and struck on just two of his first five shots.
“I threw it well but had nothing to show for it. That’s fine … it is what it is,” McCourry, a 30-year-old Perry Township right-hander said. “That what bowling is. It’s all good.”
Sample jokingly said he was “dumped by Frank Testa, and he stuck me” with McCourry
“He’s a beast. I had asked him to bowl before, but he was always too busy. He had the best look of the two of us. But the Coors Lights were really good,” said Sample, a 50-year-old Akron right-hander. “I had to pry him off the couch for this.”
Sample finished with 959 in qualifying; McCourry had 937, with the low game between the two being 399 in Game 3.
McCourry, who owns a pair of businesses, admittedly bowls few tournaments. “It worked out well,” he added.
But while McCourry and Sample had carry problems, Cook was off again in the finals, striking on his first four shots before leaving a solid 7-9 pocket split in the fifth and another 4-7-10 split in the sixth.
That’s when Price got back on track, striking on four straight shots before missing a 7-pin spare in the seventh. But Cook continued his strong play in that frame, striking on his final six shots for 245 as Price added 201.
Sample and McCourry combined for only nine strikes in the title match as they shot 182 and 183, respectively.
“The semifinal pair was really wet-dry for me,” said Price, who used a 900 Global Reality throughout the day “If I got it left it hooked quick, and if I got it in, it went 60 feet.”
As for his partner’s 7-9 split in the title match, Price joked “he got some fingers in that one.”
Cook started with the Hammer 3D Offset and moved to the Brunswick Vapor Zone in Game 2 “and pretty much stayed with it the rest of the day.”
“It allows me to play straight,” Cook said, “and the straighter I play, the better I feel I am.”
And straighter was definitely better — especially during the stepladder matches for Cook.
NOTEBOOK: The event drew 25 teams, the second biggest individual turnout in the group’s history. … Bertolette and Eckenrode jumped from seventh to the final stepladder spot in Game 4 with 458, finishing 11 pins ahead of Caden Mutchler and JT Jackson (1,805). … The team of Jim Williams and Tony Godden earned the final cash spot with 1,776, four pins ahead of Dylan Rinella and Brian Ball. … Rob Weary had the event’s lone 300 game in Game 1. … Price’s last doubles win at Park Centre came with Josh Truman as his partner one year ago. … The next College Bowl Tournaments event is at singles at 10 a.m. Jan. 21 at AMF Hall of Fame. Entry fee is $65.
COLLEGE BOWL TOURNAMENTS DOUBLES
(At Park Centre Lanes)
Semifinals
(Losers receive $250)
Brett McCourry (236)-Rob Sample (224) d. Matt Bertolette (190)-Bob Eckenrode (197) 460-387
Ray Cook (278)-John Price (181) d. Jason Gribble (203)-Matt Frock (197) 459-400
Championship
Ray Cook (245)-John Price (201) d. Brett McCourry (183)-Rob Sample (182) 446-365; Cook and Price win $800; McCourry and Sample win $500.
Other cashers
(With total pinfalls; each team receives $150)
5, Caden Mutchler-JT Jackson 1,805; 6, John Shreve-Rick Shawver 1,802; 7, Tony Confalone-Jim Fellows 1,794; 8, Jim Williams-Tony Godden 1,776.
