By BILL SNIER
CANTON — Just over six weeks ago, Brian Ball decided to make changes to his bowling equipment.
“It might sound weird, but I took the (finger) inserts out of my balls so I could turn it less because the rev rates were too high for my ball speed,” the 50-year-old Massillon right-hander said.
“My thought process was to take the hit out and get back to throwing the ball cleaner off the hand and straighter. Now, I’m able to play straighter through the front and not have that big loop in the heads.”
HIs six-week run heading into the College Bowl Tournaments Singles Finale at Eastbury Bowling Center is a testament to the success of the changes.
First, he captured the College Bowl Tournaments doubles at Park Centre in May with partner and two-handed righty Dylan Rinella. Then, he made the cut on a difficult oil pattern during last week’s Furbay Electric Open at AMF Hall of Fame before falling in the first round of match play.
He capped the surge by claiming Saturday’s finale with a 257-226 win over John Price, failing to strike on just one of his first nine shots.
Using his Storm Virtual Energy Blackout throughout qualifying, Ball averaged 234 to earn the No. 6 seed.
He switched to his Hammer Black Widow 3.0 for his opening match against No. 3 seed John Shreve Jr., pulling out a 223-216 win despite missing a 10-pin spare in the ninth frame — his only missed 10-pin spare of the day.
“That pair hooked a little more and the track was fried,” said Ball, a Carter Lumber employee who won $750 for the victory. “So I got inside more and just threw it hard up 13 to 14 (board).”
But in his next match against No. 7 seed and Green right-hander Mark Herdlick, he changed again, going to his “old reliable” — a Storm IQ Tour.
“They were beat up down the lanes and I needed earlier motion,” Ball said. “ Everything was reading too late so I picked up an earlier ball and just threw it hard and straight.
“I got a couple of breaks. I tripped out the 4-pin and the 4-6, but I wasn’t gong to go light. There was no way I was going to flat-10 at that point.”
Herdlick was hurt by two missed spares in the match, the second coming in the ninth frame.
PRICE’S ROAD
Price, a 46-year-old Amherst left-hander who won the first finale following the 2018-19 series at AMF Hall of Fame, used his 900 Global Reality during qualifying, averaging 232 over four games and finishing in a tie for the final match-play spot with Herdlick. The latter earned the higher seed by virtue of his high game of 278 during qualifying.
But Price made a decision to switch to his Roto Grip Exotic Gem during match play.
“I decided to ball up and move right. I wanted to have a little more back end,” Price said. “I probably should have done it earlier during qualifying. But I told (John) Shreve I had the pocket and I wasn’t going to fight myself through qualifying. I was just hoping I would make (the cut), and it was enough.”
He came out strong in his first match against No. 1 seed Jim Fellows, a Massillon left-hander and the only other lefty in the top eight. Price ran off the front 11 before a six-count on his final ball for a 296-238 win.
The striking continued in the semifinals against No. 5 seed Katelynn Eldred, one of only two women in the field. While Eldred had just two doubles, Price had a five-strike run early and three in a row late into the 10th frame for a 256-213 win.
“I was getting the 7-pin out throwing the Reality, but it was starting to burn out a little bit,” Price said. “But I was holding the pocket well and sneaking in a few doubles and turkeys, so I thought I was OK.”
But what he saw on one pair during qualifying came back to bite him during the title match.
BALL’S FINALS RUN
Both players started the title match with doubles before Price found problems on the left lane. His first strike in the first frame came on a Brooklyn hit after he appeared to stick on the approach during his release.
“During qualifying, the left lane on that pair (Lanes 11-12) was like six (boards) tighter,” Price said. “When I switched balls after qualifying, I didn’t think about it and it got me.”
Price left identical 2-pin spares on three straight shots on the left lane before finally striking in the ninth.
“I finally moved left, softened it up and found it,” Price said.
But it was too late.
After leaving a 4-pin spare in the third frame, Ball ran off the next six strikes in a row, carrying a light hit in the seventh and then tripping a 7-pin with a messenger in the ninth.
“That pair was one and one different than the pair I was on against Mark,” Ball said. “So I just tightened up my lines a little and hoped the 10 (pin) went.
“A couple of them, I was saying, ‘Gotta hook.’ I was just trying to throw it hard without grabbing it. It’s not my A game, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.”
The 257 was Ball’s highest game of the day.
“Yeah, he said that. I said thanks, but I threw a couple of other words in there,” said Price, who trails Ball 2-1 in head-to-head meetings.
Price was able to throw three strikes late into the 10th, but left a 6-pin in the 11th to end his chances.
Ball finishes his season with back-to-back wins in the series. He now is done until September.
“My knee is a mess right now and I need to step away from bowling for a while,” Ball said. “I know I had a solid few weeks, but I’m just too old for this.
“My leagues this year were OK. But there are leagues and there are tournaments. I really enjoy the people I bowl with and I have a blast with them,” Ball said. “But I’ve been bowling in adult leagues for 32 years and I need a break. With 34 weeks in a league, it wears on you.”
But the equipment changes had the desired results.
“Now, I can go quicker and cleaner,” Ball said. “I can go back to manipulating the ball. I can throw it firmer or slow it down. I got back the versatility I lost.”
And something to look forward to for the 2024-25 season.
NOTEBOOK: The finale drew 26 out of the 32 players who were eligible to participate with more than $1,800 added to the prize fund. … Fellows topped qualifying with 990 (247.5 average), eight pins head of Scott Vandegrift (982) and nine ahead of Shreve (981). … All four of the lower seeds won first-round matches. … As always, the series finale was contested on the house oil pattern. … With the added money, half of the field cashed, with the final cash spot in 13th place being Alex McCourry with 900. He finished eight pins ahead of Josh Haddad (892). … Herdlick and Price finished just two pins ahead of Alex Lincoln (926) and five ahead of Branden Ball (923) for the final match-play spots. … This marked the seventh year for the College Bowl Tournaments series, with tournament director Jeff DiMarzio saying it will return for Year 8, using the same three centers (Eastbury, AMF Hall of Fame, Park Centre). One change might be the addition of a second senior-junior doubles event following the success of the one this season. Tournaments are held monthly beginning in September. … Eldred had the high game of the day with 290 and Lincoln had 289. … Ball finished second to Vandegrift during last year’s finale, falling 235-224. … This was the biggest field eligible for the finale in the series’ seven-year history. There was no finale held the first year. Other past winners include Price (2018-19), John Shreve Jr. (2019-20), John Shreve Sr. (2020-21), Jim Williams (2021-22) and Vandegrift. .. Our thanks to DiMarzio and Dawn Altimore-Eckenrode for their assistance all season with event reports.
COLLEGE BOWL TOURNAMENTS FINALE
(Saturday, at Eastbury Bowling Center, Canton)
Round of Eight
(Single-game match play; losers each receive $200)
No. 8 John Price d. No. 1 Jim Fellows 296-238; No. 7 Mark Herdlick d. No. 2 Scott Vandegrift 268-197; No. 6 Brian Ball d. No. 3 John Shreve Jr. 223-216; No. 5 Katelynn Eldred d. No. 4 Tony Wagner 257-190.
Semifinals
(Single-game match play; losers each receive $300)
Price d. Eldred 256-213; Ball d. Herdlick 225-184
Championship
(Winner receives $750; loser receives $460)
Ball d. Price 257-226
Other cashers
(With four-game pinfalls; all received $120)
9, Alex Lincoln 926; 10, Brandan Ball 923; 11, Kevin Schott 908; 12, Frank Testa 904; 13, Alex McCourry 900
