MINERVA — When Scotty Shields started play in the CNB Thursday Scratch Trio league at Minerva Bowl, he thought it was going to be one of “those” nights.
“I threw three practice balls and didn’t strike with any of them,” the 34-year-old Minerva right-hander said. “Then after leaving a 10-pin on the first ball and missing it, it was like ‘here we go.’
“I thought it was going to be one of those nights where it just wasn’t going to happen for me.”
He was wrong.
Shields struck on his next five shots before leaving another 10-pin. This time, he covered the spare, struck out and then continued his surge during the next two games. He finished with 299 (leaving a 10-pin on his final ball) and his 21st 300 game for an all-time high of 857.
The mark is just nine pins off the Minerva Bowl record of 866 held by Brandon Clifford.
“I just felt like I had no room to miss. I was just rolling the ball perfect by my standards,” Shields said. “I was just locked in and focused … just rolling the ball and it was doing the work.
“I wasn’t trying to do anything special. Everything just came together.”
Shields’ previous high series — an 848 (he now has 10 800 series overall) — came with the same ball. But not exactly.
“I threw the last one at Minerva with a 15-pound version of the ball,” Shields said of the 900 Global Honey Badger Claw. “But it cracked around the thumb, so I ordered a 16-pound version of it. I didn’t like it, so I just left it in the bag.”
That was until two weeks prior to the milestone series, when Shields decided to try the 16-pounder again. It began quite a run.
“I had maybe nine games on it until a couple of weeks ago. I came in the previous Thursday and shot 728 with it,” Shields said. “Then on Friday, I had to miss the first game because of my son’s basketball game, but still had 257 and 268 the last two games to go along with my 215 blind.
“Then I shot the 858. On Friday, I really thought I was going to bowl terrible … like 620s or something. I had 257 the first game, but my carry wasn’t quite as good. I still shot 718. I was very happy with that coming out of the 800.”
Shields maintained his target throughout the 857 series, rolling the ball over 15 board and peaking between eight and 10.
“That’s my normal shot here. If I have to move right, I’m kind of screwed sometimes because I tug the ball,” Shields said. “But with only a trio league, no one was really playing where I was.
“If I hit 10 to eight, it’s usually flush and packed if I have enough fingers in it.”
The new 16-pounder is the lone ball of that weight that Shields carries in his bag. He averages 238 during the Thursday league at Minerva and 227 on Fridays.
What was the biggest worry for Shields during his big series?
Whether or not he was going to lose $8 to his teammates.
“They just kept striking and sticking me every frame,” Shields said. “I had to keep striking to keep up with them.”
Other than that, it was a solid night.
“It just felt great to throw the ball like that,” Shields said. “I don’t think I’ve ever thrown it any better.”