LEXINGTON — Bringing home titles in the annual Five-Man Baker System Tournament at Lex Lanes has become commonplace for team captain Brian Waliczek.
“I think we’ve maybe won here five or six times,” Waliczek, a 44-year-old Frankenmuth, Mich., right-hander who captured the all-events title for his fourth overall title during the USBC Open Championships in Las Vegas in 2022.
“The steady three have kind of become Andre (Gonzales), (Adam) Barta and myself. We’ve had a couple of other people step in at times. But this five has become pretty steady for us in recent years.”
Those three plus left-handers Jean Perez and AJ Rice teamed up Saturday to bring home another title in the eighth-annual event, earning a 480-436 win over Team Fleming during the two-game Baker System championship match.
Waliczek’s team also won the title a year ago, with the only change being Ronnie Sparks Jr. in for Rice.
“We would have rather had Ronnie,” Waliczek joked. “He makes more spares.”
There weren’t a lot of spares to be made for Team Waliczek during qualifying as the fivesome averaged 230.53 over 30 Baker games and compiled a 21-8-1 record. Each team bowled against every other team in the field during 29 regular games with 30 bonus pins being given for a win and 15 pins for a tie.
Game 30 was a position round before the top five teams in the 30-team field advanced to a stepladder finals, which featured two-game, total pinfall Baker matches.
“Lex usually does a good job of producing high scores, but the lanes were a little squirrelly at times. We still scored a lot, but the scores were kept a little lower than the past,” Waliczek said. “It was not a grind, but kind of a grind if you consider a grind scoring in the 210s instead of the 220s. We really didn’t have any low games.”
In fact, the team’s low game came in its position round match against No. 2 seeded Team Fleming with a 193. Team Waliczek’s high games were a pair of 279s.
“The lanes were a little more wet-dry today, and a little different pair to pair as you went across the house,” Walizcek added. “I think that led to the scores being a touch lower than the past.”
Both teams featured three left-handers in the title match, but it was Waliczek’s team that came out strong with the first seven strikes in Game 1 before Perez left a solid 8-pin in the eighth as the team finished with 268.
A 2-4-6-10 split in the fifth frame and a lack of carry during the second half of Game 1 gave Team Fleming only a 211 and put them at a 57-pin deficit heading into Game 2.
“When the lanes are this tough, anything can go. You can go from a 230 to 160 real quick,” Tom Fleming, whose team came predominantly from the Columbus area, said. “Our goal obviously was to leave nothing but makeables (spares), cover what we can, and throw good shots. That’s all we could do.
“The right side was just toast, and you had to adapt.”
Fleming’s team, which also included Norm Smith, Jeff Rainey, Branden McVicker and Jaime Fink, was unable to string strikes until the eighth frame into the 10th in Game 2. But a three-strike string ended with a 4-6-10 split on the second ball in the 10th.
Barta left a 2-6-10 split in the first frame of Game 2, and Team Waliczek was unable to string more than three strikes. Rice also missed a 7-pin spare in the ninth frame.
But with Team Fleming on their late run, Gonzalez needed a strike on his first ball in the 10th to seal the win. He doubled as the team finished with 202..
“We got a lot of practice before the match and were all talking about who could be the anchor,” Waliczek said. “We decided to put the righties and the lefties together, which is not the way we had done it all day long.
“It was the first time Andres finished in the 10th all day, but his ball looked good enough in practice. But any of us could have done that.”
It still was a solid day for Team Fleming, which entered with a different group this season.
“We threw the ball well, didn’t get down when we threw a bad shot, and we recovered with good shots,” said Fleming, whose team averaged 228.6 over 30 games and went 20-10 in match play and never dropped below fifth in the standings. The group led the field after 20 games.
“They were really jumpy in Game 2.”
EARLIER MATCHES
The stepladder got off to a rousing start as Team Snodgrass, which included Frank Snodgrass, Michael Davidson, Andrew Anderson, Kyle Lewis and Justin Knowles, rolled 300 in Game 1 against Team Marner.
The group followed that up with the first four strikes of Game 2 before Anderson left a 3-6-10 spare. Then, they struck on the next five shots en route to a 562-492 win. Team Marner also had 257 in Game 1.
Marner’s team of all left-handers included Trent Marner, Tyler Slaubaugh, Ron Holliday, Simon Mote and Joel Ray.
Team Snodgrass continued its roll in the quarterfinals, stopping Team Sisson 458-390 with a five-strike run early in Game 1 and a four-strike run late in Game 2.
The Sisson team included Jeff Sisson, Billy Conner, Eli Cox, Tim Skinner and Jordan Ventresco.
But in the semifinals against Team Fleming, Team Snodgrass had games of 199 and 176 en route to a 397-375 loss as the former rolled 215 in Game 2 to secure the win.
“It wasn’t that we ran out of gas. The lanes got tricky toward the end, and certain pairs got a bit harder than others,” said Snodgrass. Each stepladder match was contested on a different pair of lanes.
“In a pair situation like that, one lane compared to another could be drastically different. We just saw the bad toward the end, but we gave it our best and threw some good shots. In the earlier matches and with the 300, we got a couple of breaks, and we needed them all with them shooting 250. The last match we had some bad breaks. But it always comes around and evens out.”
Fleming also pointed out a key following his team’s loss to Team Waliczek — bringing lefties.
“The right side was really cooked, and when you have bowlers of this caliber, you have to be able to adapt,” Fleming said. “You have to adapt and plan it out.
“That’s why you load up on left-handers.”
And having talented players from both sides helps.
NOTEBOOK: The tournament was sponsored by Metal Conversions of Mansfield. … First place paid $7,000 to the winning team. … The Stark County team of captain J.D. Jones, Brian Ball, Brett McCourry, Adam Kutz and Dylan Rinella finished ninth overall after sitting as high as third after 10 games … Dawn Eckenrode served as tournament director along with McKenna Boyd, with Jody Boyd promoting the event. Our thanks to all for their assistance. … Waliczek’s team had the most bonus pins with 645 out of a possible 900, with Sisson’s team finishing second with 630. … Team Marner finished just one pin behind Team Snodgrass for the fourth and fifth spots, but Marner’s group gained the final stepladder spot with 7,362, including bonus pins. They earned the spot by 43 pins … Team Sisson moved up to third seed after a 279 during the position round.
METAL CONVERSIONS FIVE-MAN BAKER TOURNAMENT
(Saturday at Lex Lanes, Lexington)
Stepladder finals
Match 1: Team Snodgrass (300-262) d. Team Marner (257-235), 562-492. Team Marner wins $2,000.
Match 2: Team Snodgrass (231-227) d. Team Sisson (199-191), 458-390. Team Sisson wins $2,500.
Match 3: Team Fleming (182-215) d. Team Snodgrass (199-176), 397-375. Team Snodgrass wins $3,250.
Championship: Team Waliczek (268-202) d. Team Fleming (211-225), 470-436. Team Walizek wins $7,000; Team Fleming wins $4,500.
Other cashers
(With 30-game pinfall), including match-play points)
6, Team Tony Franz 7,319 total pinfall, $1,500 earnings.
