CANTON — It already had been what Jim Fellows described as “an awesome day.”
It was formally announced earlier Thursday that the 55-year-old Perry Township left-hander will be inducted into the Stark County Bowling Hall of Fame in August.
“It was quite a day,” Fellows said. “I received quite a few congratulations messages. I even had a couple while I was bowling.”
Oh, yes — the bowling aspect of his awesome day.
After reaching the title match of the initial Hall of Fame Summer Series event four weeks ago before losing to Bryce Oliver, the second-seeded Fellows took it one step further this time by topping No. 1 seed Frank Testa 216-199 at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes for the win.
“The hall of famer wins at Hall of Fame,” tournament director TJ Owens told him later.
It came on a night when Fellows held the top-seeded spot through the first three qualifying games before falling back with a 169 in Game 4 to finish 37 pins behind Testa.
“What worked was pretty much what worked most of the day for me,” said Fellows, who dropped the earlier title match 198-174. “It was about going straighter and trying not to make the ball hook. Just let it work.”
Using his Hammer Obsession Tour Pearl, Fellows came strong out of the gate with a tourney-high 256 en route to finishing with 824 total pinfall during qualifying.
Waiting for him in his first stepladder match was Oliver, the No. 5 seed.
Oliver, a two-handed left-hander and University of Pikeville senior, had stopped No. 4-seeded Jordan Norris, a two-handed righty and Walsh University senior, 223-141 in his opening match before holding off third-seeded Cuyahoga Falls right-hander Tyler Meredith 211-189 in the quarterfinals.
Oliver struck on his first five shots against Norris while the latter had four open frames, including a pair of splits. The two-hander again had a string of three strikes and a double to stop Meredith, who had just three strikes in that match.
But the rematch against Fellows was different.
Oliver had just one strike through his first nine frames, leaving three consecutive splits from the seventh through the ninth en route to a 188-158 loss.
“The left lane looked like it changed more for him than for me,” said Fellows, who had just one split and one double in the match. “I had a little bit of a different read on it, but it was not a major difference.
“The one thing was, if you missed two or three boards left, it wasn’t coming back.”
TESTA’S WOES
In the title match, Testa left a 2-8-10 split in the first frame, but then ran off four straight strikes to jump out early.
But he had reservations about the title pair (Lanes 39-40) coming into the match.
“I had good execution, but that pair is pretty rough for the right-handers typography-wise. And when you have to play the gutter, and the gutter doesn’t hook, it becomes a bit of a challenge.
“When I got on the pair, I didn’t think there was a whole lot of difference, except there was more bounce at the gutter. But there was more hang. That pair has been tough in the past, especially when you to get toward the gutter. It made it really sensitive.”
Fellows had just two strikes through the first five frames before running off three in a row into the eighth. He then left an 8-pin in the ninth frame.
“I was worried bowling against Frank. You just didn’t think he was goin to miss,” Fellows said. “After those three strikes I realized I put a little bit of pressure back on him and kind of breathed a sigh of relief.
“Then I leave the 8-pin and almost miss it.”
But things unraveled for Testa, a 41-year-old Massillon right-hander. After a strike in the eighth, he left three straight splits — two (2-4-8-10 in the eighth and 3-4-7-10 in the 10th) of which he converted. The other was a 3-4-6-7-10 in the ninth.
“On the first split (in the eighth frame), I got a hair fast so I decided not to make a move. The right lane was a good shot for me and it hooked more than the left lane did,” Testa said. “I was just surprised it picked up that fast considering I was probably the farthest right of any of the right-handers in the stepladder. That was just a tough break.
“The shot on the left lane in the 10th was pretty good. I might have been a hair left, but typically when I miss like that, it’s a 2-8-10,” Testa said. “It did the exact opposite.”
Testa admitted his key during qualifying was staying patient.
“I just tried not to roll myself out of it like I did the last one. I would have been satisfied with 180 or 190,” said Testa, the lone player with four 200 games during qualifying. “I usually get more comfortable after Game 1 and my scores typically get better as the lanes start breaking down. It was nice to start off on the right foot.”
But his string of second-place finishes recently — six in the last 2 1/2 months — can be frustrating.
“I wouldn’t say I’m frustrated, but I’m not happy,” Testa said. “I had a pretty good chance to win this one. The last time (at Roseland Lanes), I did the same thing, splitting a couple of times late to make it a walk for my opponent.”
As for Fellows, it was the perfect ending to a big day.
“It was just awesome to win this. TJ does a great job of running this event,” Fellows said.
NOTEBOOK: The tourney drew 31 players and was bowled on the 46-foot USBC Masters oil pattern. … Game 2 was the highest scoring one of the series with 11 200 games rolled. There were a total of 28 200 games during the qualifier. … Branden Ball and Troy Wilt had a one-ball rolloff for the final cash spot in sixth place, with Wilt winning 10-9. They finished four pins ahead of Dave McLaughlin for the last check. … Testa led qualifying with 861. Oliver earned the No. 5 seed for the stepladder with 785, four pins ahead of Wilt and Ball. … First place paid $275. … The next Summer Series event will be at 7 p.m. July 6 at Hall of Fame using the 45-foot 2022 World Games oil pattern. A practice session will be available on June 29 at 7 p.m. Entry fee is $45. Contact Owens at 330-477-7226 or via email a towens@amf.com for information. … Fellows guarantees his spot along with Oliver and past winner Brian Ball for the Summer Finale, set for Aug. 16. All tourney winners plus the top 20 on the series points list (determined by standings placements in events) qualify for the finale.
HALL OF FAME SUMMER SERIES NO. 3
(Thursday, at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes, Canton)
Match 1: Bryce Oliver d. Jordan Norris 223-141; Norris wins $80.
Match 2: Oliver d. Tyler Meredith 211-189; Meredith wins $100
Match 3: Jim Fellows d. Oliver 188-158; Oliver wins $120
Championship: Fellows d. Frank Testa 216-199; Fellows wins $275, Testa wins $240.
Other cashers (with four-game pinfall): 6, Troy Wilt 781 (won one-ball rolloff for spot)
