NORTH CANTON — Communication had been a key for Larry Verble and Don Herrington as they raced through eight qualifying games at Park Centre Lanes on Saturday.
Sunday was a little different interaction between the pair during the match-play portion of the PBA50-PBA60 Doubles-Park Centre Lanes Central Open.
“It was mostly me telling him to get his head out of his butt. But that’s another story entirely,” said Verble, a 58-year-old Mason, Mich., right-hander said.
But what Herrington referred to as “positive reinforcement” meant everything to the 61-year-old Ballston Lake, N.Y., right-hander as he pushed toward a career milestone.
After leading qualifying by 77 pins, Verble and Herrington were able to lose the lead, take it back, lose it again and then find the right combination during the position round to earn the title with 6,906 total pinfall and 5-3 match-play mark.
For Verble, it was his seventh overall regional title, but first in doubles. An emotional Herrington earned his first PBA title after nine years on the PBA50-60 Tour.
“I’ve come close so many times at so many different venues against so many great bowlers. For me, this is a joy,” said Herrington, retired CPA and owner of three bowling centers in Albany, N.Y., and High Point, S.C.
“When I first started this, it was just bowl for fun and see how it is. I started learning and having fun with it, and the friendships have been awesome.”
Herrington, who had been slated to bowl a PBA60 event in South Carolina, was a last-minute replacement as Verble’s partner, Charlie Tapp, was unable to bowl.
Verble was the catalyst behind the pair’s surge, averaging 238 on Sunday. In games three through five of match play Sunday, he shot 822 . He finished as the top individual overall with an average of 233.38 over 16 games.
Herrington, on the other hand, struggled through most of Sunday, averaging just 195.5 through the first seven games. Overall, he finished 15th individually out of the 16 remaining players at 210.31 over 16 games with a 4-4 match-play mark while Verble was 6-1-1 — tying Brian Kretzer for the best individual mark.
Team wins earned 50 bonus pins while individual matches (senior vs. senior and super senior vs. super senior) were each worth 10.
“I was floundering. I think I had one good game in there (233 in Game 5),” Herrington said. “None of us come out here, even the good ones, and expect to win every week. But to win like this against this field is really awesome.”
Dale Csuhta and Kretzer moved into a tie for the lead in the second game of match play, then took over the top spot after Game 3 of match play before Verble and Herrington took back the lead in Game 4 and shot 509 in Game 5 to hold it.
But Csuhta and Kretzer defeated Verble and Herrington 453-402 in Game 7 to hold a 46-pin lead heading into the final position-round match — when the same two teams faced off again.
“I lost my look a little bit. They started hooking a little more and I kept going left, would grab one and it would overhook,” said Verble, who used his Hammer Obsession Tour solid all day.
“His look got better so it worked out. I bowled well in the middle and got us in position and then he took over the last two games. Thank goodness he did.”
While Verble shot just 198 and 188 his last two games — his only two games under 200 all weekend — Herrington finished with 204 and his tourney-high of 247 in the position round, including five strikes in a row.
“I had just had a 160 (Game 6) and my look was either fast or it rolled forever,” Herrington said. “During the five minutes of practice (for the position round) I changed balls and was able to line up with it. I just threw the best shots I could.”
He went from the 900 Global Zen Gold Label to the Ebonite GB 4 Hybrid.
“The Zen was a little squirty for me … it was reading little early with too much friction so I needed something that would be a little more archy,” Herrington said.
POSITION ROUND DETERMINES OUTCOME
But in the position-round match, it was Csuhta and Kretzer who had problems, combining for just 389, finishing with 6,885 to take second overall.
“That pair hooked an arrow and a half more … something we hadn’t seen in six games,” said Kretzer, a 57-year-old Dayton right-hander with 34 regional titles. “They gave us five minutes of practice, which wasn’t correct. They weren’t lined up and then they got lined up.”
Kretzer had just four strikes in the final match, with a pair of splits, while Csuhta, a 68-year-old Wadsworth right-hander with 10 PBA titles, had just four strikes. It came after the pair combined for 453 in Game 7 to grab a 46-pin lead.
“I hate to get that far and lose,” Csuhta said. “I had to keep moving in more and trying to catch the oil without getting it out too much. They figured it out and threw it well.”
Kretzer went to his Storm Hy Road X on Sunday — a ball he didn’t use during qualifying when the pair sat sixth after eight games.
“I hit the pocket as much as anyone, but I just couldn’t knock them over. I just couldn’t get the ball to go through the pins,” Kretzer said. “Today, that was the right ball and it went through the pins great.
“The last game, I hit the pocket the last eight shots but only had three strikes. They just never got nice for Dale.”
Verble later lamented not changing balls.
“I hadn’t changed all day, and probably should have tried something else,” Verble said. “But it’s like, I have a good look with hit so I will make my hand do something right to make it work.
“I did it for enough shots to stay ahead of Brian, and that was the main key because I knew Don had Dale taken care of with the five in a row.”
Herrington won his position-round match 247-201 over Csuhta while Kretzer and Verble tied at 188 after the latter left a 6-7-10 split in the 10th frame.
But the positive reinforcement made the difference in that final game.
“I’m struggling and not getting my hand in the right position to do what I need to do,” Herrington said. “But it wasn’t micromanagement by him. It was just, solve it and you’ll be fine.
“Maybe just a ball or angle change, but it ultimately is my problem to solve. Having someone who is positive and not giving me negative energy filling my mind with a lot of stuff means a lot. I’m going to solve it eventually.”
And for the pair, who didn’t even decide to team up until the Monday before the event, it was enough for a win.
“I was floundering all day and was really struggling to put up a big game,” Herrington said. “In my mind, I was saying, ‘I’m not going to lose this regional for Larry. He earned it, darn it.’”
NOTEBOOK: Jeff Zaffino threw the only 300 of the tournament in Game 7 of match play Sunday after David Show had the previous high of 299 Saturday. … Darryl Bower and PBA50 Player of the Year Troy Lint, who were eighth following qualifying, finished third overall with 6,698. Lint struggled much of the day, with a high game of 239 and three games under 200 with a low of 183. … Left-hander Michael Haggitt finished second individually, averaging 227.44 over 16 games. Kretzer (223.06) and Csuhta (216.25) were fourth and seventh individually. The pair also finished with the most match-play bonus pins with 245. … This was the ninth year for the tournament at Park Centre, which plans for its return next season. … First place paid $3,200 overall. … Akron’s Don Hogue and Glenn Smith finished seventh overall. … Through the efforts of coordinator Charles Spencer, the pro-am had 65 entries this season.
See complete results here: