By BILL SNIER
snieronbowling.com
CANTON — The Roto Grip Hyped Solid bowling ball that Jason Corrin had used all of last season and most of the start of the 2023-24 winter season was just sitting in his bag.
“The last time I threw that ball was about a month ago,” the 44-year-old Massillon left-hander said. “I just wasn’t getting the lane reaction out of it that I was expecting.”
But in the Saturday Nite Mixed league at Eastbury Bowling Center, the Vision Center manager at Walmart in North Canton decided to bring the ball back out on the lanes again.
“I had been throwing the (Roto Grip) Gem and an old (Roto Grip) Helios, but staying away from that ball. But I came out with it in practice, and I’m really not sure why,” Corrin said. “I just decided to throw it to see what happens.
“Everything hit dead flush in the pocket.”
Corrin continued throwing strikes as his series started, beginning with 299 in Game 1. He followed with 255 and 278 for an 832 series — his career high in 11 800 series to go along with 17 300 games.
“I’ve been getting a little better this year going direct,” said Corrin, who was playing a line from 15 (board) to seven. “But that night, I knew if I got around the ball a little, I could get it out to five.
“I could feed that ball out a little bit this time and it came back. It was nice that I was able to hit about 15 at the arrows. There was no effort at all … it was just a very strange night.”
Corrin left a 10-pin on his final ball in Game 1.
“Of all things,” Corrin said. “But I actually tripped the 7-pin out. I really liked it better than the other two I threw in the 10th frame. The last one, I threw where I wanted it to go. The first two were in a little and still carried.
“I laid the last one down where I thought I would get a good reaction, and I didn’t.”
Corrin left multi-pin spares in both the sixth and eighth frames of Game 2, but covered both.
“I knew what I needed the third game … it sadly has gotten too easy to do the math,” Corrin said. “I have had higher two-game sets going into the third game and blown it.
“But, at the same time, it was one of those things where I knew I had at least two misses to play with, so it made it easier than some of my other ones.”
His first miss came in the third frame, when he left a spare.
“I knew that as long as I kept a string going into the ninth, I would be fine,” said Corrin, who said he felt remarkably calm during his latest 800 quest. “When I had the second shot in the 10th frame, I knew that if I carried it, it would be a personal best for me. That was the only thing on my mind.”
Corrin, who is averaging in the 220s in leagues at Eastbury and Park Centre Lanes, called this season “a struggle” to this point.
“For some reason, I’ve felt like I’ve had to work harder for scores this year than in the past,” Corrin said. “The lanes haven’t been matching up with me the way they have been the last couple of years.”
But for that night, with the help of an “old friend,” things matched up just fine.
“The whole night just felt as effortless,” Corrin said, “as it’s ever felt.”