By BILL SNIER
DOVER — Brian Baxter knows his defending state champion Conotton Valley High School girls bowling team can throw strikes.
But in Game 1 of Wednesday’s East District Division II girls sectional tournament at Boulevard Lanes, the Rockets had some problems.
“Overall, they did pretty decent, but we had a few struggles,” Baxter, the Rockets’ head coach, said. “We got those ironed out after the first game. But that’s to be expected sometimes, especially on this shot.”
After sitting second with 839 in Game 1, the Rockets finished the opening three team games with 2,641 total pinfall and went on to top the 26-team sectional field with 3,682 overall, 156 pins ahead of second-place Minerva, to lead six teams into district play.
The format was three regular team games and six Baker System games.
The Rockets will be joined by the Lions (3,526), Carrollton (3,278), Garaway (3,229), River View (3,158) and West Holmes (3,004).
East Liverpool, the top team from the second shift, shot just 140 its final Baker System game to finish with 2,970, falling 34 pins short of a district trip.
The top six teams and top six individuals who are not on those teams advance to the East District tournament, set for noon Feb. 22 at Legacy Lanes in Coshocton.
East Liverpool junior Addison Rudibaugh leads individual qualifiers with a 620 series, Joining her will be Indian Valley junior Zoe Blickenderfer (492), Monroe Central senior Shyann Baker (482), Philo junior Emily Moore (470), Indian Valley junior Kaylee Dunlap (456) and Philo sophomore Cassidy Himes (443).
ROCKETS ON TOP
Baxter lost four players, including three starters, off of the Rockets’ 2023 state title team.
“We had a couple of holes to fill, but those kids are doing real well,” said Baxter, whose team captured the first Inter-Valley Conference girls bowling title this season. “We have some up-and-comers who are doing what they need to do.
“We are heavily dependent on our top three again, but our fourth and fifth spots have been doing what they have to do. If we can get 150s or 160s and occasionally 170 or 180 games, that’s what we’re looking for.”
It’s what Baxter got in Game 1 as sophomore Delilah Williams shot 152, but sophomore Lillian Booth had 161. After that, the Rockets’ top three — senior Mackenzie Willoughby (667 series), Williams (557) and junior Mylie Galigher (533) — found their groove, with all three finishing in the top 10 individually.
But Baxter was more pleased with the Rockets’ Baker System performance after Conotton Valley finished with 1,041 during that six-game round.
“The Bakers worried me the most in all honesty. It’s been our Achilles’ all season and we’ve been struggling with that,” Baxter said. “We usually average around 160. But to have four solid Baker games out of this group with only two iffy ones, I was OK with that.
“We want our six Bakers to be around 1,100 or 1,050 and we’ll be OK.”
The Rockets had two 200 games to start Bakers, and later added 195 and 182. Their low was 127 in Game 3.
CHASING THE ROCKETS
Minerva coach Dana Keister knew what he was up against in the morning session after the Lions held the lead after Games 1 and 2.
“I didn’t expect anything different out of them,” Keister said. “(Assistant coach) Robyn (King) and Brian have those girls top-notch.”
Keister was happy with the Lions’ start in team games, especially after junior left-hander Isabelle Genet shot 266 in Game 1. But Baker games were another story.
“We were pretty good in individuals, but left a lot to be desired in Bakers,” Keister said. “But we can practice that, and we’re definitely going to have to.
“We were surprised to be first early because the competition is a little better here now. We didn’t go against Conotton Valley, but we know Carrollton, River View and Garaway were all there. We just got the breaks.”
Genet led the Lions with 643, junior Jadynn Thompson added 534 and senior Shelby Worrell had 488.
“This is the first time we had seen this pattern, but we had an idea of what we had to do. But not all of them were buying into it right away,” Keister said. “We had a lot of opens. The oil pattern was tough and they moved to typical house shot areas to cover spares, and it doesn’t work.
“Spares in Bakers are the key. They can put up a score when their name is up, but it’s a team thing that is going to advance you the rest of the way.”
The Lions shot 931 during Bakers, with a high of 187 — their only game above 160.
SPARES ARE KEY
Carrollton coach Wendy Russell said her Warriors “didn’t help ourselves … we missed a lot of spares.”
The Warriors did not shoot above 800 in the opening three-game session, with a high of 776. Sophomore Kaylee Russell was high for Carrollton with 493, followed by junior Hailee Ulman with 491 and senior Abby Natcher with 482.
“It was definitely different today, staying on the same pair for all three games,” Wendy Russell said. “It has its advantages and its disadvantages.
“We’ve bowled on this shot quite a bit at different houses, but depending on where you go, it plays different. We had trouble getting the girls far enough right and out of their comfort zones.”
Russell knows spares will be the key next week in Coshocton.
“I told the girls that spares is what wins tournaments,” Russell said. “Strikes are great, but we have to make spares. That will be our focus.”
Garaway was between third and fourth the entire first shift, with sophomore Harmony Clymer leading the way with a 622, good for third place individually. Junior Ava Starner added 546.
All of the coaches agreed on what to work on next.
“Being at the Rocket Center, we can put the pattern in our machine and practice, but different houses, with different oil of course it will play different,” Baxter said. “But it’s going to come down to spares … it always does.”
NOTEBOOK: The field included 12 teams during the morning session and 14 in the afternoon at the 20-lane center on the OHSAA sectional-district oil pattern. … Teams bowled their opening three games on the same pair of lanes, with two teams on a pair. During Baker games, teams swapped pairs, with Lanes 3-4 moving to Lanes 5-6 and Lanes 5-6 moving to Lanes 3-4, with the remainder of the field making similar moves. All six Bakers also were bowled on the same pair, alternating lanes after each game. … Four individual district qualifiers came out of the afternoon shift, led by Rudibaugh. She had the high game of the day with 267, one ahead of Genet and Willoughby. … Only three 200s were shot in the afternoon, two by Rudibaugh, while six were shot in the morning session. … Conotton Valley had the high team game with 921, the only 900 shot. The Rockets also had the only two 200 games shot during Bakers. … There were 17 sub-100 Baker games rolled, 13 in the afternoon session. … We would like to thank Steph Staggers for her assistance in providing us information for this report. … Tickets for the district tournament are available online only at $8 for adults and $5 for students. They can be purchased at https://www.ohsaa.org/tickets