CANTON — Brian Ball had boldly predicted at the end of qualifying that he was going to win the fourth event in the Hall of Fame Summer Series after finishing as the No. 1 seed.
“I had a good look pretty much all night. The 207 and 202 were not that bad,” said the 49-year-old Massillon right-hander, who led qualifying with 897 for four games.
“There were just a bunch of corner pins where I didn’t quite match up right with the ball reaction. But when we moved back to fresh (for the stepladder finals), I felt like I was playing left of all the right-handers in the building as far as crossing the arrows. I felt coming down I was going to have a free look, and I did.”
But what Ball, who was making his third stepladder appearance in four Series events this season at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes, didn’t count on were swing and grip problems.
Despite struggling during the opening four frames, Ball was able to string three strikes in the middle of the match — the third on a crossover hit — to stop Bryce Oliver 210-177 Thursday for his second win of the Series.
Ball rested sat and talked during the first two matches of the finals before starting to throw practice balls at the low end of the center’s side during the semifinals.
“My thumb just swelled up. The one slug I used was too tight and the next one was too big. I put tape in one and it was still too tight, to I took it out and cut a piece in half and I was OK. I’m just old,” said Ball, who used both the 900 Global Reality Check and Motiv VIP ExJ Sigma.
“It was just piss-poor execution. I didn’t elbow three shots all day, including in practice, and I elbow the first four. That’s just terrible execution.
“But a win is a win.”
OLIVER’S NIGHT
Oliver, who has made the stepladder finals in all three of his Series appearances this season with one win, called it a “weird night.”
“I think I finished one 10th frame all night, and I gave some pins away in the others,” said the 21-year-old Cuyahoga Falls two-handed left-hander, who will be a senior at the University of Pikeville this year, majoring in communications.
“The scores were really high tonight so I kept a very simple game plan, threw the Purple (Hammer) and tried to keep it close because I knew they were hooking a lot. Brian bowled a better game … it’s as simple as that.”
Oliver, who earned the No. 2 seed after finishing 11 pins behind Ball, opened match play against No. 3 seed Zachary Abbott, a 16-year-old Lake High School junior who was making his first stepladder appearance in an adult scratch event.
Abbott ran off three strikes late during the quarterfinals and did not have an open frame en route to stopping No. 5 seed J.D. Jones, a 28-year-old Massillon right-hander, 205-147 in his opening match.
Jones, who was making his second stepladder appearance after winning three times during the Series’ inaugural season in 2022, had four splits in the match. “It was weird being the old man in that match,” Jones said later.
But things changed in the semifinal for Abbott as Oliver struck on five of his first six shots en route to a 213-178 win.
“I bowled pretty well in qualifying, but just struggled in that game. I tried to treat it like a youth tournament,” said Abbott, a two-handed righty who captured the U18 title at the Great Lakes Junior Gold Tour’s recent event in Sandusky. “I was nervous at the start, but just tried to do my best.”
Abbott also is just a three months removed from surgery to his right knee for an an injury he suffered playing basketball. He just ended physical therapy last week.
“I’m tired. But in Game 2, I just couldn’t find good ball reaction. Nothing I tried would clear the fronts and, if it did, it wouldn’t hook down lane,” Abbott added. “I was way too far left too soon. I picked up my spares, but I couldn’t strike.”
This was Abbott’s first stepladder appearance in four Series events, but he encouraged other high school players to give it a try.
“Be prepared to bowl bad. It’s hard out here,” Abbott said. “But it’s good practice and will make you a better bowler.”
Oliver did leave a 7-10 split in the 10th frame agains Abbott — a preview of things to come.
TITLE MATCH
While Ball struggled with his problems during the first four frames (he didn’t have an open however), Oliver left a 4-6-7 split in the first. He followed that with a 3-6-7-9 split in the fifth and a 2-7 split in the ninth.
But a big problem was leaving consecutive 7-pin spares his first three times on the right lane.
“I didn’t think the first (split) was that bad. The second one was bad left and it was hard and had no chance,” Oliver said. “The ninth frame, it was at it a quick, but a little hard. I had to get it out there with the friction, but if you threw it out of bounds, it was going to say there.
“It rolled too long and I got an unfortunate break. Of course, the ones that don’t matter, I strike and in the craziest ways.”
Ball was able to get his three strikes from the fifth through the seventh before converting a 3-10 split in the eighth. Oliver finished with just five strikes, finally hitting the right lane in the eighth and adding two more in the 10th frame
“I just moved parallel two-and-two (boards) and kept the ball more in front of me. I was trying to circle it too much and I came in behind the head pin,” Oliver said. “I just stuck to my A game, playing straighter angles forward, getting the ball started earlier and close to the head pin.”
Ball knew what he was up against in the final.
“Bryce is just so freaking strong. I figured I would have to bowl 230, but he cot a couple of bad breaks where he got the ball too far left and it didn’t react,” Ball said. “I knew exactly how this pair (41 and 42) was going to play. The left lane hooks and the right lane doesn’t.
“You just had to get left, find you’re hold and you’re good.”
But Ball admitted the proper execution of his game plan didn’t come until late in the match when he struck out in the 10th while needing a low pin count for the win.
“I made one good shot on the left lane and four good shots on the right, but most of I came in the 10th when I just needed five pins,” added Ball, who laughed that Oliver was helped by his “cheater” ball (Hammer Purple). “This makes up for stinking up the place the last time (he finished 18th).
“But you just can’t do that against a player like Bryce. My execution was just so bad, but I appreciate the win and I’m humbled by it.”
In the opening match, Jones stopped No. 4 seed Kevin Schott, a 24-year-old Alliance right-hander, 220-168 as the former struck on five of his first six shots while the latter left a pair of splits in the first five and struck just five times — three coming in the 10th frame.
NOTEBOOK: The fourth Series event, bowled on the 46-foot World Championships oil pattern, was the highest scoring of the season with 46 200 games rolled in the 31-player field. … Josh Parry had the high game of the Summer Series so far with 279 in Game 3, but finished 11th. … Jones finished four pins ahead of Keith Zeigler (838-834) for the final cut spot, with Zeigler earning the final cash spot by three pins over left-hander Jim Fellows, who won the previous Series event. Fellows, who was the qualifying leader through two games, shot just 158 in Game 4 to fall back. … Eleven players averaged 200 or higher on the pattern. … The next Summer Series event, sponsored by Jimbo’s Landscaping, is at 7 p.m. July 20 on the 2022 USBC Queens oil pattern. Entry fee is $45. All Series winners plus the top 20 in tournament points (based on tourney finishes in the six events) will qualify for the Series finale, set for Aug. 10. A practice session on the upcoming pattern will be available July 13. For information, contact TJ Owens at 330-477-7226 or via email at towens@amf.com
HALL OF FAME SUMMER SERIES
Stepladder finals
Match 1: J.D. Jones d. Kevin Schott 220-168; Schott wins $80
Match 2: Zachary Abbott d. Jones 205-147; Jones wins $100
Match 3: Bryce Oliver d. Abbott 213-178; Abbott wins $120 in SMART scholarship funds
Championship: Brian Ball d. Oliver 210-177; Ball wins $275, Oliver wins $240
Other cashers
(Based on four-game pinfalls)
6, Keith Zeigler 834, $60.
