COLUMBUS — Ryan Liederbach, who was the qualifying leader after eight games Saturday, rolled his way to victory during the championship finals of the $10,000 Shovel City Motorsports HP Lanes MEGA event Sunday at HP Lanes.
Liederbach, who earned the No. 4 seed for the eight-man stepladder finals after shooting 289 during the final game of the six-game Cashers Round, defeated No 1 seed Dave Krol 230-226 to capture the title and the $10,000 first-place check.
The 26-year-old two-handed left-hander needed a double in the 10th frame to hold off Krol, who led the tournament with 3,306 over 14 games, including shooting 300 in Game 2 of the Cashers’ Round.
Krol, a 55-year-old Branson, Mo., right-hander, led that six-game round with 1,501 en route to gaining the No. 1 seed by just one pin over Urbana left-hander Graham Fach (3,305), who shot back-to-back 279s his final two games in the Cashers Round. Krol sat 16th following the eight-game qualifying round with 1,805.
In his opening match during the stepladder, Liederbach rolled past Jordan Malott 267-208, then followed that with a 288-249 win over Fach during the semifinals.
Malott, the No. 8 seed, survived two three-man stepladder matches to reach the quarterfinal match against Liederbach. Malott (3,225 total pinfall) earned the final stepladder berth by 26 pins over Andre Gonzales (3,198), the runner-up during Saturday qualifying and first-shift leader.
Chad Roberts, the No. 5 seed during the stepladder, also shot a 300 during the second three-way match of the stepladder finals, but was eliminated in the final three-man round by Malott. Also falling short was No. 4 seed Nate Garcia.
“Last year, I qualified second for match play at this very tournamentand I lost it in the 10th frame in the semifinals. I didn’t watch it for a whole year until it came up in my memories,” Liederbach said in a Facebook post. “I remember that I was feeling so nervous and felt the pressure of trying to win. This year was different. I had an angel watching over me today.
“In the end, my anxieties took their toll on me (Saturday) but today, I wouldn’t let them win.”
Tournament director Jody Boyd announced the MEGA event will return June 6 through 9 in 2024 again at HP Lanes. However, instead of a four-man team event on June 7, there will be a trio event bowled on a “much longer house shot.” The doubles also will return on June 6 on the regular house oil pattern.
Sunday’s rounds were delayed by a morning power outage. A new oil pattern was used this year for the singles.
Defending champion Mykel Holliman finished 16th overall with 3,153.
Boyd’s next major event is the $4,000 Akron Open, set for Aug. 26-27 at Stonehedge Family Fun Center in Akron.
SHOVEL MOTORSPORTS HP LANES MEGA SINGLES
(Sunday, at HP Lanes, Columbus)
Stepladder finals
Match 1: Justin Knowles (232), Jordan Malott (216) d. Alec Kiplinger (205); Kiplinger wins $1,400.
Match 2: Chad Roberts (300), Jordan Malott (212) d. Justin Knowles (203); Knowles wins $1,800.
Match 3: Malott (score NA) d. Roberts (226), Nate Garcia (226); Garcia, Roberts win $2,400.
Match 4: Ryan Liederbach d. Jordan Malott 267-208; Malott wins $3,000.
Match 5: Liederbach d. Graham Fach 288-249; Fach wins $3,500.
Championship: Liederbach d. David Krol 230-226; Liederbach wins $10,000; Krol wins $5,500.
Other cashers
(Based on 14-game pinfall totals)
9, Andre Gonzales 3,198, $1,200 earnings; 10, Frank Snoddgrass 3,191, $1,000; 11, Nick Larsen 3,190, $900; 12, Will Vidulich 3,183, $900; 13, Fero Williams 3,171, $900; 14, AJ Rice 3,168, $900; 15, Andrew Anderson 3,154, $800; 16, Mykel Holliman 3,153, $800; 17, Ryan Speer 3,137; $800; 18 Nolan Wbite 3,119, $800; 19, Devean LIttlejohn 3,111, $800; 20, Michael Mossbarger 3,099, $700; 21, Zach Wilkins 3,097, $700; 22, George Gohagan III 3,096, $700; 23, Matt Sanders 3,094, $700; 24, Derrick Norman Jr. 3,080, $700; 25, AJ Wolstenholme 3,071, $700; 26, Mikey Tang 3,031, $700; 27, Trent Marner 3,023, $700; 28, Dean Vargo 3,014, $600; 29, Trent Pektas 3,013, $600; 30, Jason Burger 3,007, $600; 31, Killian Kilpatrick 2,978, $600; 32, Jean Perez 2,968, $600; 33, Jonathan Kleer 2,941, $600; 34, Joe Lipan 2,935, $600; 35, Drake Bazzy 2,944, $600; 36, Jimmy Cook 2,915, $600.
