NORTH CANTON — Both women have a pair of 300 games, are in their 30s and live in Stark County.
But the similarities end there for Plain Township 37-year-old right-hander Renae Burns and 32-year-old Massillon right-hander Ashlee Gonzales-Webb.
Burns grew up in Northeast Ohio, attended GlenOak High School and participated in high school bowling during the initial season of the Stark County High School Bowling Conference.
Gonzales-Webb was born in California and has followed her military husband, Jesse, to Virginia and then Ohio as he remains active.
But both also share one other aspect of their bowling careers: looking for their first 800 series. And both came close for the second time just a week apart recently at Park Centre Lanes.
ONE HIT SHORT OF THREE FOR BURNS
Burns started off her night in the Custom Poly Ladies league with a 299, leaving a 7-pin on her final ball.
“I really didn’t like the shot off my hand. I knew I got it too far in,” said Burns, who averages 214 in her only league. “I came up light on it.”
A solid 8-10 split hurt Burns in Game 2, when she lost some of her carry in setting for a 223.
But earning her first 800 series — she has a career-high series of 793 — still was within reach.
“I knew what I needed to do the last game. I pretty much stayed where I was the whole night and really didn’t adjust that much,” sad Burns, a nurse for Massillon City Schools. “I don’t think I was nervous or anything.”
The key shot came in the 10th frame after a string when Burns left a 9-pin to deny her the milestone as she finished with a 268 for a 790 series.
“I’m more frustrated than anything else. I went in a shot my shot,” said Burns, who had her two previous 300s with the same ball, a Hammer Burn. “I didn’t think it was a bad ball.”
Burns admittedly started the season slowly while following her son Braxton’s athletic contests.
“I’m really still adjusting,” said Burns, who just added a new Ebonite One Remix to her arsenal. “I’ve had a couple of 700s. But it’s just very frustrating to have that happen again.”
ADJUSTMENTS FOR GONZALES-WEBB
It’s been a whole different type of adjustment for Gonzales-Webb, who bowls in two predominantly male leagues at Park Centre.
“I’ve really never experienced lane conditions like they have here before,” said Gonzales-Webb, a Key Bank teller who moved to the area in August 2022. “It’s just a matter of getting used to it. In Virginia, I was around the 220s and here I’m around 200 to 203.”
Her near 800 miss came with a surprise when she had her second career 300 in Game 3 after games of 256 and 237 for 793. Her previous high was 786 which also involved her first 300.
In Game 1, Gonzales-Webb left a pair of 6-10 spares. In Game 2, she left a 2-8-10 split, getting two pins. But it was a pair of 10-pin spares that bothered her.
“I just couldn’t get it together early in that game,” said Gonzales-Webb, who switch from a Hammer Dark Webb to a Storm Phaze 5 in Game 2 — a new ball she had yet to throw.
“It was like I was not fully confident in it yet and probably not a good decision on my part,” she added. “But I figured what did I have to lose?”
When she finally looked at her total after two games, she knew the quest for 800 was over. “With those two 10-pins, I just felt it wasn’t fair,” she added. “Maybe I deserved one, but not both.”
Jesse Gonzales-Webb was laughing after his wife had the first five strikes in Game 3. She thought they were both laughing about the same thing, but she was wrong.
“He told me later than he knew I had missed the chance for 800,” Ashlee said. “I was like, thanks for not telling me. I was thinking about it a little at that point, but I wasn’t really doing the math.”
Gonzales-Webb had taken off 10 days off from bowling heading into that night in the Hannon Electric league.
“I had a nice little mental break. I just kind of went in refreshed and ready to do it,” she added. “I really didn’t realize I had anything until about the eighth frame of Game 3. I was just as cool and confident as I could be.
“I was just going with the flow, talking with everyone. Then, it’s like, ‘OK, it’s go time.’”
She admitted her shot in the ninth frame was inside her target.
“I threw it a little inside and luckily it slid into the pocket, but I had enough hand in it to get a reaction,” Gonzales-Webb said. “I did the same thing on the first ball in the 10th.
“When I’m on a string like that, I kind of block out a little and I did that time again. I felt then I just had to clean it up … one at a time.”
The second 300 is great; an 800 would have been better, however. But the season isn’t over for either player
“Now, I kind of know what the house has to offer. It transitions fast and kind of creeps up on you,” Gonzales-Webb said. “I’m getting a better grasp on it.”
As for Burns, the confidence remains as her game rounds into shape.
“I know I have it (800) in me,” Burns said. “I’m just not quite there yet.”
But she did give it another run earlier this week in the same league, with games of 278, 228 and 268 for 774.
“I’m bound and determined to have that 800 before this season is over with,” Burns said on her Facebook post, “and maybe another 300 if I’m real lucky.”