By BILL SNIER
STRUTHERS — It was the first time the North Canton Hoover High School boys bowling team had bowled on the 2024 OHSAA sectional-district oil pattern.
But the message from Vikings coaches Chris Simko and Chad Wensel remained the same even when Hoover was taking home three first-place trophies in other events.
“They were able to deal with spares today,” Simko said. “That was the biggest difference from the first tournament we bowled in to now. They were about 90 percent today, and we’re very happy about that.”
In a rematch of the 2023 boys finale, it was Hoover that was able to earn the sweep, topping Perry 2-0 at the 17th annual Baker Shootout at Holiday Bowl on Saturday. The Panthers won by the same total in 2023
In the girls final, Fairport Harbor Harding had to go three games to stop home-standing Struthers 2-1and earn the title.
Teams bowled 15 Baker System games on 15 different lanes before the field was cut to the top five teams in each division for a best-of-three Baker System stepladder finals.
HOOVER CLAIMS WIN
Hoover sat fifth after Game 1 of the event with a 180. The Vikings were never out of the lead again.
“I thought it went really well. They were keeping their focus on marks and staying level-headed all day,” Simko said. “They ran with it from there.”
Wensel felt ball choices at critical times along with staying calm were key for the Vikings, who won 190-171 and 216-169 to take the title.
“The ball choices were awfully good. It started after the first game when we struggled a bit,” said Wensel, after the Vikings went from 180 to 237 and 233 in Games 2 and 3 to surge on top.
“After about eight games, we had to make some changes and, at the end going into the finals, we had to make other ones.
“All of this was part of understanding what balls are going to work.”
The Vikings finished with 3,111 total pinfall, an average of 207.4, with a low game of 169. They finished the last four games with 213, 224, 214 and 223 to secure the top spot.
In the finals, the Vikings chose to start on the right lane (Lane 20) of the championship pair. To that point, teams were 7-1 in the stepladder finals on that lane.
“We wanted to get ahead with the lane choice,” Simko said.
Perry earned the first win on the left lane (Lane 19) during the semifinal match against No. 3 seed Hubbard, shooting 216 to the Eagles’ 161. The Panthers won Game 1 190-171.
Getting into the second seed was a bonus to Panthers coach Don Sprout after his team shot 143-148 and 148 in three of their first four games of the day around a 236.
“I thought we did really well after spraying it around a bit early. It was a bonus,” Sprout said after the Panthers finished with 2,868. “They were just trying too hard coming out of the gate.
“I told them they had to be outside of the second arrow. If they were going to miss, they had to miss right, and that’s when they started scoring.”
Sprout, who sighted the play of senior Nick Harmon for being a key in the Panthers’ surge, felt his team got a bit “lucky” against Hubbard in the semifinals.
“We capitalized on their guys not striking at key times. Nick struck out in like 12 of the 15 Baker games during qualifying. He’s our rock,” Sprout said. “But this is a team in every respect, and everyone contributed today.
“I can’t wait for tournaments. We’re going to No. 1 at Eastbury (sectional) and No. 1 at Lorain (district). We’re going to kick butt.”
Hoover had junior Cole Hapstak and seniors Ryan Dague, Connor Lab, Jack Wells and Chase Wensel in their lineup for the title match.
“We knew we lost to them last year. But we were feeling pretty good, pretty confident going in,” Chad Wensel said. “We had the right guys at the right time with the right ball choices for the last match.
“We put everything out there the best we could to get it done. This gives us a head’s up on what we should be doing for the tournaments.”
FAIRPORT CLAIMS TITLE
Struthers earned the fourth seed for the stepladder finals, but had to run the ladder to earn a title shot against Fairport Harbor, a state qualifier a year ago along with Hoover’s boys.
“I wasn’t really surprised by what these girls did. But we really were battling a lot of sickness this week, with girls out with flu for five days,” Struthers coach Bob Eisenbraun said. “We struggled a bit in qualifying, but they were trying to find their way back coming off the illnesses.”
Fairport Harbor, which bowls a heavy tournament schedule during the season, earned the top seed with 2,683, finishing 17 pins ahead of Perry. The Skippers had a low game of 177 over its last five in qualifying.
“We had a couple of rough games, but we swapped a couple of girls in in Games 4 and 6 and they got momentum,” said Skippers coach Jerry Rich after his team took over the top spot in Game 9 from the Panthers and held it the rest of the way.
“This is all preparation to get them ready for Columbus. They know where to play this pattern for the part. We’ve always bowled a lot of tournaments in our program. It’s just nicer that there are more up by us now instead of going to Columbus or over here so much.”
After winning Game 1 in the title match 173-169, Fairport Harbor fell in Game 2 212-180 before shooting big in Game 3 with four strikes in a row at one point to gain the win 226-123.
“This is still a good confidence builder for us after the illness,” said Eisenbraun, pointing to the performances of juniors Sofia Previte and Clara Coppola as being key.
“Our fourth and fifth bowlers threw great shots when we needed them, and they’ve been that way all year.”
The Wildcats swept past No. 5 seed Howland, and went three games to top No. 3 Boardman (2-1) and Perry (2-1), winning Game 3 202-199 in the semifinal match.
Rich credited his two top players, juniors Jillian Justinger and Mackenzie Pilny, for playing key roles in the win.
“But the other five have to be solid players. I tell them you never know which day it’s going to be who, so we’ve been stressing that lately,” Rich said. “Next Saturday, it’s go time (sectionals). No matter who is in, and if you’re out, be ready to go back in. That’s been a crucial thing for us to talk about this year.”
NOTEBOOK: Perry’s run in the girls stepladder was hurt when junior Kiele Poling suffered an ankle injury during warmups for the semifinal match and was unable to continue against Struthers. … Fairport Harbor posted the high girls Baker game of 235, while Hoover had the high boys game of 245. … Hubbard’s boys, sitting seventh after nine games, jumped to third after posting games of 214, 215 and 226 over the final five games and shooting nothing lower than 182. … The field included 12 boys teams and 11 girls teams, with the Struthers JV team pulling out late due to illnesses on the team.
17th ANNUAL BAKER BLOWOUT
(Saturday, at Holiday Bowl, Struthers)
BOYS
Qualifying results (after 15 Baker System games): 1, North Canton Hoover 3,111; 2, Perry 2,868; 3, Hubbard 2,789; 4, Canfield 2,787; 5, Canton McKinley 2,767; 6, Boardman 2,759; 7, Austintown Fitch 2,714; 8, North Allegheny (Pa.) 2,680; 9, Struthers 2,381; 10, Fairport Harbor Harding 2,351; 11, Lakeview 2,310; 12, Niles McKinley 2,016
Stepladder finals
Match 1: Canfield (208-158-180) d. Canton McKinley (201-211-175) 2-1
Match 2: Hubbard (226-203-180) d. Canfield (142-210-139) 2-1
Match 3: Perry (227-194) d. Hubbard (219-178) 2-0
Championship: North Canton Hoover (190-216) d. Perry 171-169.
GIRLS
Qualifying results: 1, Fairport Harbor Harding 2,683; 2, Perry 2,666; 3, Boardman 2,621; 4, Struthers 2,266; 5, Howland 2,232; 6, Canton McKinley 2,195; 7, Hubbard 2,098; 8, North Canton Hoover 2,045; 9, Austintown Fitch 1,856; 10, Lakeview 1,825; 11, Niles McKinley 1,728.
Stepladder finals
Match 1: Struthers (160-213) d. Howland (140-138) 2-0
March 2: Struthers (180-199-196) d. Boardman (206-193-159) 2-1
Match 3: Struthers (188-169-202) d. Perry (176-200-199) 2-1
Championship: Fairport Harbor Harding (173-180-226) d. Struthers (169-212-123) 2-1.