By BILL SNIER
NORTH CANTON — Something had to give.
The doubles team of John Shreve Jr. and Joe Hostetler had finished second twice and reached the semifinals once in their last three College Bowl Tournaments doubles appearances.
Brian Ball, who teamed with previous doubles winner Dylan Rinella, lost in the semifinals of the last College Bowl over-50, under-50 doubles with his son, Branden, and had yet to win an event run by the group. Rinella had won in 2021 — ironically, with Hostetler — and had finished in the top eight with Ball in their last outing together.
Ball and Rinella made sure Shreve and Hostetler continued their run of second-place finishes.
By having a better look on Lanes 23 and 24 at Park Centre Lanes, Ball and Rinella were able to roll to a 492-385 win in the title match of the College Bowl Tournaments regular doubles event Saturday.
It marked the final regular-season event for the four-year-old group and attracted 30 teams, the second-best turnout in its history. The final College Bowl event will be the annual singles season finale, set for 10 a.m. May 11 at Eastbury Bowling Center.
Only players who have bowled in at least four of the group’s events this season are eligible for this tourney.
It all came down to Lane 23 of the championship pair.
ONE LANE IS PROBLEM
Starting on that lane, Shreve could throw only one strike (in the ninth frame) and started with 4-6-7-9-10 and 4-6-7-10 splits in frames one and three. He struck on his first five shots on Lane 24.
“I was just trying to lay off on the backends and keep it in play,” said Shreve, a 53-year-old Vermillion right-hander and PBA50 Central Region pro who threw his 900 Global Xponent during the title match. “But the left lane hooked so early that no matter what I did, it didn’t matter.”
Hostetler, who went with his Storm Mix during the title match, had similar problems. He struck just once, in the first frame, through the first five on Lane 23, including a pocket 7-10 spit in the third frame.
“It was a rough lane and it hooked a lot,” said Hostetler, a 35-year-old Cuyahoga Falls right-hander. “But when you got far enough left, there was a spot that if you got it inside it, you would 2-pin. It was real easy to fly a 10 even if you hit the pocket.”
He went to throwing straighter on both lanes,, but “It still hooked early on 23 … then I moved off of it and it didn’t hook.”
Ball, a 50-year-old Massillon right-hander, had a simple philosophy on both lanes — throw it hard.
“I just took hand out of it and threw it hard,” said Ball, who shot 267 in the title match, missing on each lane just once using his Motiv Black Venom. “It wasn’t pretty, but it worked.”
Rinella, a two-handed righty who used his Storm Virtual Energy Blackout in the title match, acknowledged that the back ends on Lane 23 in particular “were going a bit.”
“I just went all the way left, hit it and threw as hard as I could and got it right,” said Rinella, whose only blemish came on a 3-4-6-7-10 split in the fifth frame — on Lane 24. He finished with 225.
RUN TO TITLE
Rinella, who admittedly struggled during the four-game qualifying round until shooting 265 in Game 4, keyed the team in the semifinals. He shot 277 with Ball’s 211 as the No. 4-seeded pair stopped previous group doubles winners and No. 1 seed Frank Testa and Vinny Bellar 488-450.
This appearance came after the Hi-Way Distributing sales representative took a break from tournament bowling.
“There was just some drama in the bowling world and I needed to get away from it for awhile. I still bowled leagues,” Rinella said. “I was bowling really badly, too, so it was a combination of things.”
Ball, who shot 977 during qualifying, said it the day came down to carry.
“It’s a house shot so you just had to keep it in play, hope to throw a couple of doubles in there and make your spares,” said Ball, who is employed by Carter Lumber. “I was fortunate to stay clean during qualifying. We just grinded it out.”
RUNNER-UP AGAIN
Hostetler led his pairing in qualifying, shooting 1,009 for his four games, including a 298. He shot 240 in the semifinal match as the pair topped Brett McCourry and Rob Sample 450-368 to reach the title match.
“I didn’t bowl that well all day,” said Shreve, who finished with 837 during qualifying as the team led the field after Game 2 and settled as the No. 6 seed. “I just stayed out of Joe’s way and let him do his thing. I think he had 11 in a row at one point during the first two games.”
The last time out, the pair fell to Marissa Perrine and Jack Lenhart in the College Bowl Tournaments over 50-under 50 doubles 468-432. Before that, it was a 489-462 loss to Bellar and Testa in a regular doubles.
“It just seems like we’re always finishing second,” Shreve said.
Shreve, with his two splits in the title match, finished with 191 while Hostetler, with one split and a missed 2-4-5 spare in the ninth, had 194. They combined for 14 strikes in the final match, with two doubles and the latter striking out in the 10th frame.
Meanwhile, Ball closed the game with eight in a row and Rinella had five in a row from the sixth through the first ball in the 10th.
But both will take the summer off from bowling.
“After I finish out, the balls will go away until after Labor Day. It’s been a rough year,” said Ball, who won twice during the Hall of Fame Summer Series in 2023 at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes.
Rinella also will shut it down again.
“When the fall starts up, I’ll try to find the love for the game again,” Rinella added.
Finishing with a victory won’t hurt that quest.
NOTEBOOK: Testa and Bellar shot 479 the final game to take the qualifying lead with 1,952 total pinfall, just 19 pins ahead of Sample and McCourry. … Eric Long and Jeff Mowls, who led after Game 1, were the final cut spot at 1,830, 29 pins ahead of Mike Chinn and Brian Esterle (1,801), who gained the final cash spot in ninth. … Chelsea Dorosky, one of only two women in the field, and Zac McCutchen turned in the tourney high game of 526 in Game 2, just one pin ahead of Moils-Long and Kevin Schott and Richard Elliott III. … Elliott had the lone 300 of the event in Game 3, while Hostetler had 298 and Matt Bertolette and Long each shot 290. … Elliott had the high individual series with 1,016, followed by Hostetler (1,009) and Bellar (1,007). … Tournament director Jeff DiMarzio will announce the eligible players for the group’s finale later this week. Entry fee is $65.
COLLEGE BOWL TOURNMENTS DOUBLES
(Saturday, at Park Centre Lanes, North Canton)
Round of Eight
(Losing teams each receive $220)
Dylan Rinella-Brian Ball d. Matt Coffelt-Scott Vandegrift 501-463; Brett McCourry-Rob Sample d. Mike Spitale Jr.-Mark Herdlick 512-436; Vinny Bellar-Frank Testa d. Eric Long-Jeff Mowls 430-420; John Shreve Jr.-Joe Hostetler d. Kevin Schott-Richard Elliott III 466-440
Semifinals
(Losing team each receive $300)
Ball (211)-Rinella (277) d. Testa (229)-Bellar (221) 488-450; Shreve (210)-Hostetler (240) d. McCourry (169)-Sample (1`99) 450-368.
Championship
(Winner team receives $850; losing team receives $420)
Ball (267)-Rinella (225) d. Shreve (191)-Hostetler (194) 492-385.
Other cashers
(With four-game pinfalls)
9, Mike Chinn-Brian Esterle 1,801, $130 earnings.
