CANTON — After three wins a year ago during the inaugural Hall of Fame Summer Series, J.D. Jones found himself trying to work his way up the stepladder finals from the No. 5 spot — again.
“I told you when I had that 160 (in Game 4 of qualifying) it would make the cut,” said the 28-year-old Massillon right-hander, who has qualified for the finals at No. 5 twice and No. 3 once this summer.
“I’ve had to grind it out from the fifth spot a couple of times now. “I’ve done some poor bowling in the stepladders. But today, I was able to find something, stick with it, get a couple of breaks and make it work.”
After making the cut by 37 pins despite shooting 168 during his final qualifying game, the RJ Floor Covering employee earned four wins to take the fifth event of the Summer Series with a 226-193 win over Bryce Oliver on Thursday at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes.
“This really feels good,” Jones said. “I’ve had to grind it out a few times to get to this point.” The problem for the entire field was the left lane (Lane 41), which produced only 15 strikes through four matches. Jones had five in the last game alone on that lane.
“I just seemed to be going longer and I couldn’t get the ball to go through the plns like I wanted,” Jones said. “As soon as you started to move, you ran the risk that if you go heavy, there was a chance of going through the face.”
RUNNING THE LADDER
After running off four strikes in a row to start his opening match against No. 4 seed Alex Coffelt, Jones did not strike on the left lane between the fourth frame of Match 1 and the fourth frame of Match 2.
“I pretty much tried to slow the ball down a lot to get to the pocket and through the pins,” Jones said.
But while Jones stayed clean the rest of the game, Coffelt, a 19-year-old Canton resident and University of Rio Grande sophomore making his first adult stepladder finals appearance, ran into problems late on the right lane.
After a pair of doubles through the sixth frame, Coffelt failed to convert a 1-3-6 spare in the seventh and left a 4-6-7-10 split in the ninth en route to a 229-185 loss.
Next up for Jones was No. 3 seed Scott Vandegrift, a 35-year-old Perry Township right-hander and Jones’ doubles partner in many events.
Jones remained clean until missing a 10-pin spare in the eighth frame, bouncing the ball off his ankle. But he also had just two strikes in the game.
“I 100 percent hit it,” Jones said of the ankle later. “It’s not black and blue yet, but it’s a little tender. I’m doing OK.”
Vandegrift, who captured the College Bowl Tournaments finale in May, had three strikes in a row early, but then had three straight open frames into the seventh while missing two spares and leaving a 6-7-10 split.
But after Jones left a 2-4 spare in the 10th to give Vandegrift the opportunity to win with a mark, the latter left a 4-6-7-10 split on his first ball in the 10th to fall 179-166.
“You never expect anything like that. I would have hung myself up any day of the week, but stuff like that happens,” Jones said. “You don’t expect that out of a bowler like Scotty.
“Alex and Scott were throwing the ball down the lane a little farther. I don’t know if that was causing more problems with the left lane or not, but I was having a problem getting the ball to pick up where I was originally in the first game.”
Jones’ semifinal opponent was No. 2 seed Frank Testa, with the 41-year-old Massillon right-hander missing the top seed by just two pins.
“I would never count myself out,” Jones said, “but Frank had it going all night. And watching him in practice … .”
Jones struck only four times in the match, but the fourth came on a late trip 4-9 in the ninth — only his second strike on the left lane in Match 3. Meanwhile, Testa, who had finished second also to Jim Fellows earlier in the Series, had just one strike on the left lane and failed to convert a 3-10 split and a 1-2-8-10 spare in the ninth en route to a 200-166 loss. He also had just one double with four single-pin spares.
“I was all about making spares and giving myself a chance,” said Jones, who stayed clean in the semifinal. “I just tried to stay out of trouble.”
FINALS BATTLE
But after battling the left lane through two matches, Jones used a new strategy in the title match against Oliver, a 21-year-old Cuyahoga Falls two-handed lefty, who won the Series’ opening event and finished second in the last event to Brian Ball.
“I moved a little right and tried to keep the ball straighter,” said Jones, who used a 900 Global Reality and Storm Phaze II — sometimes one on each lane — during the stepladder. “I slowed it down a lot to get the ball into a roll a little sooner. I seemed to get through the pins a little better and pushed a little longer.”
While Oliver put together three straight strikes into the sixth frame, Jones opened the game by whiffing on a 3-6 spare to the left. But he struck on four of his next five shots to close the gap to 10 pins.
Oliver left a pocket 7-10 split in the seventh frame and left three straight 9-count spares to finish.
“I’ve figured out in this bowling center the left lanes are just tighter. The right lanes are always going to hook more,” said Oliver, who used his Purple Hammer. “The left lane is not going to be stretched out no matter if it’s on the fresh or burn.
“But my carry was bad all night. But I couldn’t have lost to a better bowler or a better person. I had fun. I was a little angry, but he bowled a really good game and my carry just stayed bad and he had some breaks.”
It has been a rough seven days for the University of Pikeville senior, who was notified of his grandfather’s death just before bowling a July 14 sweeper at Roseland Lanes. Then, one of his really good friends lost his mother on Tuesday.
“It’s been a rough week. We’re burying my grandfather next week right after my 22nd birthday,” Oliver said. “ When my friend’s mother died, it just added on. I just wanted to come out and bowl … I didn’t care about the money. Bowling is just like my safe space.
“I kind of let my emotions get the best of me a couple of times tonight. But it was just building in me all week and it came out at the wrong time.”
Oliver was surprised to be in the No. 1 position when qualifying ended.
“I really didn’t know I had it until (TJ Owens) made the announcement,” said Oliver, who will bowl in events in Cleveland on Friday and Cincinnati during the weekend after finishing first, second twice and third in his last four events.
“With my carry, my scorecard was not pushing me in the right direction.”
After throwing his three strikes in a row into the sixth, Jones left a solid 8-pin on a shot he thought was a lot worse.
But tripping the 4-9 to complete his second three-bagger on his first ball in the 10th sealed the match.
“The 8-pin … I almost fell on my face on that one,” Jones said.
But he stood long enough for his fourth overall Series victory.
NOTEBOOK: The event drew just 24 players, with only the top five cashing. Oliver led qualifying with 816, two pins ahead of Testa. … Robert Wilson, who held the lead after two games, shot just 263 over his final two on the USBC Queens oil pattern and finished 16th. … There was a nearly 15-minute delay due to tornado warnings in the area with bowlers moving to the center’s lower level until the warning expired. In happened late in Game 4 of qualifying. … Testa had the high tourney game of 235, followed by Oliver and Wilson with 233. … All Series event winners plus the top 20 in the Series points list advance to the finale, set for Aug. 10 on the most difficult pattern of the six regular Series events. Also advancing to the finals are winners of the weekly 50-50 drawings. Owens, the tournament director, estimated first place in the finale could pay $1,000. … The final regular Summer Series event is set for 7 p.m. Aug. 3 on the 2021 USBC Junior Gold oil pattern. Entry fee is $45 with 1-in-5 cashing and bowlers rolling four qualifying games. For information, contact Owens at 330-477-7226 or via email at towens@amf.com.
HALL OF FAME SUMMER SERIES NO. 5
(At AMF Hall of Fame Lanes, Canton)
Match 1: J.D. Jones d. Alex Coffelt 229-185; Coffelt wins $60
Match 2: Jones d. Scott Vandegrift 179-166; Vandegrift wins $90
Match 3: Jones d. Frank Testa 200-179; Testa wins $120
Championship: Jones d. Bryce Oliver 226-193; Jones wins $250, Oliver wins $180.
