By BILL SNIER
NORTH CANTON — It had been “a minute” since Nathan Sommers put three solid games together in the same series.
“It was long past due,” the 34-year-old Greentown right-hander and Park Centre Lanes assistant manager said.
The wait ended recently in the Honeymoon Grille league at Park Centre when Sommers had games of 265, 258 and 278 for an 801 — his second career 800 to go along with five 300 games.
But for Sommers, it was all about the ball. To be more specific, the latest in the line of Roto Grip Idol balls.
He used a new Optimum Idol for his latest milestone, shooting 741 the previous Wednesday in his first outing with it, and following that with the 801.
“There was just something different about it. I had thought about getting an (Storm) Absolute Power because it was the same colors as my first 300 ball, the Track MX16 back in the day,” Sommers said. “It was old school. But something kept telling me to hold off.
“I saw that purple and pink with that Idol and I just had to have it. It just gets down the lane nice, and when it comes back, it just crushes (the pocket).”
Sommers’ night started with the first five strikes before leaving a 4-7-10 split in the sixth.
“I got slow with it,” said Sommers, who averages between 220 and 214 in three Park Centre leagues. “I got what I deserved there.”
Game 2, it was another split — a 4-7 when “I got slow again,” Sommers added — in the fifth that slowed his run. But after leaving a 10-pin spare in the seventh, he ran strikes until leaving another 10-pin in the seventh frame of Game 3. His final ball of the night was a 4-pin.
“I was thinking a little bit about it in the back of my head,” Sommers said. “But I’ve been there before so I wasn’t too nervous.”
In fact, he added, teammate Dan Block, a Jackson Township left-hander who has 30 career 800s, was more nervous than Sommers.
“He really got pumped in the ninth frame of Game 3. He just said, ‘Just give me two more,’ ” Sommers said. “He was more excited and nervous than I was.
“He gave me a high-five after the first one in the 10th. It was great to have someone like that cheering you on and keeping you focused.”
The drama for Sommers came on the 11th ball when he started — and stopped.
“I took one step and then stopped. My thumb just felt like it suctioned in there,” Sommers said. “So I just reset and threw the strike.
“I knew I just had to get it close on the last ball. I knew the spot I was playing had been working nice, so I got it close and threw my hands up in the air. I knew I had at least eight on that shot.”
He bought the new ball because his original Idol Helios “just wasn’t quite finishing.”
Now, it’s just time to keep it rolling as the season closes.
“I’m just going to roll this ball,” Sommers said, “until it doesn’t roll right.”