CUYAHOGA FALLS — When captain Joe Altimore III decides on who to draft for his Northeast Ohio Travel League team, there is one key item he looks for in teammates.
“When I’m picking, I need someone who is going to stay mentally involved the whole time,” said Altimore, also the league president. “I don’t care if we’re down by 50 (pins). We need to find something. Let’s have a conversation and find a way to make a run.”
Altimore found that in right-hander T.J. Charles, who despite missing a pair of 10-pin spares in the 10th frame of two games, was able to make key shots when they counted most.
Altimore’s Track team of Charles and Kevin Schott was able to stay clean through four games as it beat Eastbury Bowling Center 3-1 to earn the title in the best-of-five final match Thursday at Clutch Lanes and Sports Center.
“There are so many really, really good top-notch players around this area that just cannot mentally deal with a breakdown like that,” Altimore said of Charles.
“We just couldn’t have had a better anchor than him,” Schott added.
It marked the fifth overall title for Altimore as captain, his last coming in 2018. Charles and Schott are only in their second seasons in the league, both making the eight-team rolloff a year ago, but coming up short. Schott, who bowled with Brett McCourry and Ryan Trowbridge last season, finished second.
Eastbury’s team, which included captain Jeff DiMarzio, Richard Elliott and Scott Vandegrift, got into the rolloff during the final week of the season as a wild-card division entry after winning a one-game rolloff.
Each round of the eight-team rolloff was best-of-five Baker System match play. Each player threw at least three frames per game with the trio teams, with the leadoff also bowling the 10th frame.
“People don’t understand. Baker games under pressure, it’s way different than what people are used to,” said Altimore, who also is Perry High School’s girls bowling coach. “A lot of the guys in this league have bowled high school and have an advantage. But the older guys that didn’t do that haven’t had a lot of experience trying to make those shots under pressure.”
Track won its opening match 3-2, pulling out Game 5 236-183 over Texas Roadhouse after winning the first two games.
Then in the semifinals against Roto Grip, Track again took the first two games before dropping Game 3. Game 4 came down to the wire, but Charles missed a 10-pin spare in the 10th frame to give Roto Grip a chance. But a 7-count on the final ball produced a tie, forcing a two-frame rolloff.
“You never expect anything like that … a 7-count on the final ball,” Charles said. “I let them back into it, but we were able to get one back.”
“Even if we lost the rolloff, we still had one more game to go,” Altimore added.
But in the rolloff, after a spare in the ninth, Charles stopped Joe Stauffer 50-46 to give Track a spot in the finals.
EASTBURY’S RUN
Eastbury’s first two matches went to Game 5 in similar fashion — winning the first two and then losing the next two to force a winner-take-all situation.
In its opener against Key Realty, Eastbury prevailed 213-203 in Game 5 to conclude a run that included a 278-269 win in Game 2. The victory came despite Key shooting 801 (269-279-254) from Games 2 through 4.
During the semifinals, Eastbury stopped Waikem 248-230 in Game 5 to advance.
TITLE MATCH
After each team bowled their first two matches on fresh oil, the title match was bowled on a pair (Lanes 5-6) that neither team had been on all night.
Track used the order of Charles, Altimore and Schott, while Eastbury countered with Elliott, DiMarzio and Vandegrift.
In Game 1, Track bowled on the left lane and missed just three times en route to 254. Eastbury, bowling on the right lane, had three splits and another open frame en route to 161 — the lowest score of the night and only the third under 200 during the entire rolloff (two by Eastbury).
But Eastbury came back when it switched to the left lane, running off four strikes in a row twice around one split to earn a 244-238 win.
Changing lanes for Game 3, Track again found the key for a 227-212 win, striking seven times to just five for Eastbury although the latter stayed clean.
But in Game 4, Eastbury went split-open early as Track emerged with a 223-190 win and the title.
A key was Altimore finding a solution with ball changes, hitting high in the pocket and carrying out 4-pins.
“His ball was just hook-stopping that allowed him to get away with it,” Charles said. “With me, I just got firmer and kept throwing it.”
“We saw what was happening. I’m just going to keep moving left and move with it,” Schott added. “We just relied on each other.”
Altimore admitted he moved just slightly. But he also has far less ball speed than his teammates.
“If I make a move off that first kick-out 4-pin and then I would wrap a 10-pin,” Altimore said. “I wasn’t going to move until that 4-pin doesn’t go. If I hit where I wanted to hit, I’ll kick 4-pins out all day long. But you can’t miss in there.”
Altimore knows this is a one-time thing for this group — the beauty or curse of a draft league.
“I knew what I was getting here. Kevin is one of the top up-and-comers in this area and I knew he was going to be lights out. T.J. is just raw power,” Altimore added. “The worst part is, I have zero chance of getting both these guys back next year.
“That’s why this league is so hard to win in. Every year it changes, and the chemistry changes. You never know how people will jell together. But these two together was just crazy.”
DRAFT COMING UP
The NEOTL’s annual draft is set for 7 p.m. May 20 at Eastbury Bowling Center.
The league bowls a 30-week season, beginning Sept. 7, with 16 teams in four divisions of three bowlers per team. League fees are $25 per week.
There is a draft application fee of $10. Pizza will be available the night of the draft.
For an application, see the NEOTL’s Facebook page or log into the following:
SENIOR LEAGUE COMPLETES SEASON
The 2022-23 Senior Traveling League, sponsored by Ellsworth Auto Body, completed its season recently with 12 five-man teams.
The Strike Zone Lounge team of captain Joe Norcia, Mike Lucius, Gary Elsass, Denny Robish and Dave Patterson earned the title with a sweep of the Park Centre Lanes team of captain Paul Hobson, Joe DePalmo, Bob Taylor, Ray Bourquin and Jack Reed.
The league is looking for teams and individuals for next season, which begins Sept. 21, 2024. This is not a draft league.
The league bowls at noon on either Tuesdays or Thursdays with 30 dates, and players must be age 55 or older to participate. For information, contact league president Jose Rante.
NORTHEAST OHIO TRAVEL LEAGUE ROLLOFF
(Thursday at Clutch Lanes and Sports Center, Cuyahoga Falls)
Quarterfinals
Eastbury Bowling Center (Richard Elliott, Jeff DiMarzio, Scott Vandegrift) def. Key Realty (Adam Kutz, Jason Bogavich, Eric Randazzo) 3-2.
Roto Grip (Joe Stauffer, Rob Weary, Dustin Dingler) d. RJ Flooring (Alex McCourry, Branden Ball, Josh Handad) 3-2
Waikem (Ryan Trowbridge, Gary Liber, Joe Bailey) d. Park Centre Lanes (Austin Reese, Bill Reese, John Randolph) 3-1
Track (Joe Altimore III, T.J. Charles, Kevin Schott) d. Texas Roadhouse (Troy Wilt, Justin McIlvain, Brett McCourry) 3-2.
Semifinals
Track (257-224-237-223) d. Roto Grip (222-215-257-223) 3-1 (Game 4 was two-frame rolloff).
Eastbury (244-258-226-223-248) d. Waikem (237-237-236-238-230) 3-2.
Championship
Track (254-238-227-223) d. Eastbury (161-244-212-190) 3-1.