By BILL SNIER
To say that bowlers in the Northeast Ohio Travel League have been on fire lately would be an understatement.
Over the past three weeks — at three separate centers — the trio scratch league has recorded at least one 800 series — and it bowls during the second shift at the houses, starting between 9 and 9:30 p.m. usually.
First came Wabash Lanes in New Philadelphia, where Perry Township right-hander Scott Vandegrift and Jackson Township left-hander Jason Bogavich, bowling one pair apart, had 800 and 801, respectively.
A week later, at Spins Bowl-Kent, TJ Charles recorded his second 800 of the season (the first coming in league play at Spins Bowl-Akron) with 813.
Then, at Park Centre Lanes last week, it was Justin McIlvain’s turn with an 823.
This week, the league will bowl at Eastbury Bowling Center in Canton with a 9 p.m. start to see if it can go 4-for-4. Meanwhile, here is a look at the streak through the bowlers’ eyes.
SCOTT VANDEGRIFT
Vandegrift, who averages 226 in the league, used two different balls for his latest milestone and first since February 2022 at Spins Bowl-Akron in the NEOTL.
“I didn’t like the reaction in the ninth and 10th frame of the first game,” said Vandegrift, a R.J. Matthews Co. employee who started the night throwing his Motiv Nuclear Forge. “I was not going to fight the same line, so I went to a different ball that is strong on the back end.
“It worked and I stuck with it.”
This came after having the first nine strikes in Game 1 and leaving a 2-8 spare on his first ball in the 10th. He then left a 2-8-10 on his fill ball, prompting the change to a Motiv Venom Pearl.
In his few times at Wabash, the 35-year-old Vandegrift has not shot a 700 series.
“I’ve had 680 there, but most of the time I’m between 640 and 650,” Vandegrift said. “You can get to the hole in that house, but for me it’s the carry. When you can carry, it’s great.”
Vandegrift started Game 2 with the first 10 strikes before leaving a 4-pin in the 11th. But it wasn’t just him that game: teammates Matt Frock (300) and Jordan Norris (245) helped the Triway Lanes team shoot 834.
“We ended up with 2,265 overall. That was pretty high trio game,” Vandegrift added.
Game 3 didn’t start well as he failed to convert a 2-4-5-8 bucket spare, leaving the 5-pin. He had three straight strikes before leaving a 10-pin. Vandegrift then ran strikes into the first ball in the 10th frame when he left a 4-8 spare.
“I knew that I needed to strike on the fill ball to get there,” he added. “I made sure I threw that one good. But I wasn’t really worried about it. I didn’t realize it until the last ball. If I would have shot 299, I would have been happy.”
JASON BOGAVICH
Bogavich, a 41-year-old real estate agent and Levin Furniture employee, also has no idea how many 800 series or 300 games he has. He is bowling just one league at this point due to family and work responsibilities.
“This league actually works out better for me with the second shift,” Bogavich said. “I’m just happy to be out of the house. I bowl a league at Hall of Fame part-time with my father and this one.”
Bogavich, who averages 230 in the NEOTL, admits cutting back has affected his play.
“I’m doing pretty good, but I’m not as consistent as I should be if I was bowling more,” Bogavich said. “I feel I should be better. If I get lined up, I strike a lot.
“But spares get al little weird sometimes. I’m not bowling as much, but I can still hold my own.”
That night at Wabash, using a Hammer NU Blue that he won in a raffle the previous Monday, Bogavich had games of 246, 277 and 278 for 801.
“I hadn’t thrown that ball at all … I just got it drilled up that week after I won it. Really, I just throw urethane equipment now because there’s no reason to throw anything else,” Bogavich said. “My bag is basically all different colors.
“Technically, that one is not urethane, but why buy real equipment?”
He failed to convert a 7-pin in Game 1 — “I whiffed it by half the lane … it wasn’t even close,” Bogavich said — but he was able to avoid left-side spares the rest of the night except for one 6-pin.
“Thank God, I didn’t have to shoot anything again on that side,” he added. “I was able to make the rest of the spares all night.”
Bogavich didn’t realize he was on an 800 path until leaving a spare in the third frame of Game 3.
“Scott had already shot his 800, but I realized real quick that if threw the next everything I could shot 801,” Bogavich said. “I did the math real quick in my head. I had no idea to that point.”
TJ CHARLES
Charles,, a 40-year-old Jackson Township right-hander who is employed by Xerox and runs KreativeTouch Property Services, has been touting his play with his new Track Sensor Pearl and Solid during league play at Spins Bowl-Akron.
“For the 12 weeks I’ve had those balls, I’ve been averaging 691. With the new oil machine and new pins at the beginning of the season, I was averaging around 218,” said Charles, who shot 824 earlier this season at Spins Bowl-Akron. “I’m up to 243 on Mondays.”
But Charles, who also is averaging 235 in the NEOTL, went with a different ball when he shot 813 at Spins Bowl-Kent.
“That night, I needed a bigger ball,” Charles said. “I bumped a little left and kept it in the middle of the lane.”
Charles had games of 279, 276 and 258 for his 22nd career 800 series to go along with 52 career 300 games.
“I didn’t change my line all night. I maybe moved two boards max, maybe two left with my feet and two right with my eyes,” Charles said. “I threw the ball much better this time than I did at Akron.
“I had a lot of help there. I was still in the 1-3 pocket, but there were a ton of messengers that night.”
On this night at Kent, the only spares Charles left were 10-pins except for one poor shot on his fill ball in Game 2.
“Every shot except that one were in the pocket, either flush or high flush,” Charles said. “There were no light mixers.”
Charles has been battling a dislocated ring finger on his right hand that occurred earlier in the season.
“I will have to have surgery at the end of the season. I did it at the beginning of the season and battled through it,” Charles said. “But three weeks ago, I did again while lunar bowling with my son, and I felt something. But I was able to battle through it again and shot 800.”
Charles can barely put his ring finger into the ball, but, ironically, he thinks it has helped his game.
“I has caused me to slow down and stay firm at the line, not fall off shots,” Charles said. “It’s been working. (Team captain) Joe (Altimore) says he’s going to hurt me every week.”
JUSTIN McILVAIN
The 31-year-old Alliance right-hander admittedly has struggled in the past at Park Centre.
“I used to bowl there and would average in the mid-230s,” said McIlvain, a Kuriyama Manufacturing employee who has not bowled in a weekly league there in about 10 years.
“But now, I just bowl there in travel league or if Jeff DiMarzio has an event there (College Bowl Tournaments). I’ve always had trouble getting ball reaction there. It seemed like I would get none, get none, make adjustments and then I get an overreaction.”
But last week, using his Storm Journey for the first time at the center, he tried a new approach.
“I started with my feel more right than normal and kind of squared the shot up a little bit,” said McIlvain, who had games of 279, 278 and 266 for his 823. “Normally in travel league, I will grab my strongest piece of equipment and go down starting in practice.
“Being on a burnt shot, they tend to hook out of the gate. Technically, the Journey is the strongest piece in my bag now, but it seemed to work all night and I stuck with it. It definitely surprised me.”
After a double to start the night, McIlvain left a stone 9-pin in the third frame before striking out. In Game 2, he had the front seven strikes before leaving a 4-7 spare in the eighth and striking out. To finish the night, he had the front eight strikes before leaving a “blow out” 7-pin in the ninth and a 10-pin in the final frame.
“I was left of 25 (board) with my feet and trying to get to 15 at the arrows out to eight to 10. It seemed to work most of the night,” McIlvain said. “I moved closer to 15 to 10 as the night went on because a couple of guys on our pair were heavy swingers. I was trying to stay inside the one and outside of the other.”
McIlvain now has 16 800 series to go along with 33 300 games.
He bowls in three leagues, with averages of 219 (Monday) and 231 (Friday) at Eastbury along with 228 in the NEOTL. It was the first time he had thrown the Journey at Park Centre.
“I really haven’t had much success with that ball since I got it. I’ve been trying to use it as much as I can to figure something out with it,” said McIlvain, who used the ball for the first time at Park Centre. “It just happened that Thursday was the night.
“I had great ball reaction out of the gate and all night long.”