NORTH CANTON — It may sound strange to say after shooting an 832 series, but Brandon Clifford feels if he would have trusted his instincts sooner, he might have challenged his career high.
“The first six or seven shots of the second game, I felt like my ball was coming in a bit high,” the 42-year-old Plain Township right-hander said. “I should have switched out then, But I decided to wait until the fill ball in the 10th frame.
“I should have switched out earlier when I thought I should have. But I waited..”
Clifford, who holds the Minerva Bowl record of 866 set during the 2021-22 season, had his latest milestone in the Foxfire Lounge Mixed league at Park Centre Lanes.
He is bowling in just two leagues this season, both at Park Centre. But his averages are 14 pins different between the mixed league and the Hannon Electric Tuesday league.
“It just seems like the oil is longer on Friday for me,” Clifford said. “I have more area to the right of 10 (board). On Tuesday, if I get the ball right, the ball is going left.”
Clifford started with the Storm Phaze II that Friday night and made the switch in Game 3 to the Storm Phaze V.
“On Tuesdays, it seems like I’m trying to find something that will work,” said Clifford, a UniFirst employee. “I really don’t know why it’s different for me. With the mixed league and only four players, it is a faster pace.”
Clifford, who bowled at Minerva for years, decided not to go back this season.
“Part of it was the drive. But honestly, when (good friend) Bobby Burkett died, it was tough to go back there,” Clifford said of his friend and teammate. “I loved him to death and when he passed, I kind of lost interest in going back.”
He didn’t remember his exact numbers from the series, but spared in the first frame of Game 3 before being on a 290 pace until another spare in the 10th following his ball change.
But he did have a statement at the end that teammates would like to immortalize on t-shirts.
“I told them the more I drink, the more I strike, the more I score,” Clifford laughed. “I might put that on a t-shirt sometime.”