By BILL SNIER
PARMA — Andrew Smith admits there’s something about bowling on tougher oil patterns that suits his game.
“You have to make better shots because the scoring pace is extremely low,” the 31-year-old Garfield Heights left-hander said. “You never have to catch anything out of the realm.
“It also fits into part of my game where I can straighten up and play it a little more down and in and make spares where I can.”
Smith didn’t have to make many spares during Sunday’s stepladder finals of the Hit Dem Pockets Scratch Masters at Rollhouse Parma. If fact, he finished with just five over two games.
But the Spins Bowl Independence pro shop employee also finished with 12 strikes to capture the win, stopping LaGrange right-hander Josh Truman 202-126 in the title match.
Smith, who finished third during the recent Furbay Electric Open at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes in Canton on another difficult oil pattern, came into Sunday’s 12-player advancers’ round ninth overall after qualifying and 28 pins out of the cut to match play.
He then shot 732 over his first three games Sunday to move up to second. He finished with 191 and 202 to stand fourth after the five-game round heading into match play.
“My game plan coming into (Sunday) was to try to catch a game or two early. I knew the scoring pace was going to go up,” Smith said. “The less you cut to, the better the bowlers are. I started with 730s the first three and I knew I was in a good position..
“I just had to grind it out the final two games to make the stepladder and got it done.”
TRUMAN’S COMEBACK
Truman, who was eighth after the 10 qualifying games in the original 33-player field, started Sunday with 165. But then the excavating company operator kicked into gear.
He averaged 247.75 over his final four qualifying games to finish just two pins behind advancers’ round leader Dean Vargo (3,115-3,113).
Then, in his match-play battle against No. 5 seed Jesse Smith (Andrew’s brother), Truman added games of 234 and 252 with runs of five strikes in the opener and eight in Game 2 for a 486-415 win to earn the top seed for the stepladder finals.
“They were scoreable all weekend long if you threw the ball in the right spots,” Truman said. “They were speed sensitive and you had to make good shots. If you didn’t, you paid for it.”
And Truman paid dearly in the title match.
SMITH’S RUN
Smith bounced back from his lackluster finish during the advancers’ round to roll 247 in his opening game against co-qualifying leader Antonio Palangio in match play. He then finished with 210 for a 457-394 win to learn the No. 2 seed for the stepladder.
While match play was bowled on pairs used during the advancers’ round, the stepladder finals moved to fresh oil on Lanes 15 and 16.
“The fresh (Sunday) was similar to the first block (Saturday). There was a little more friction down lane and I was able to get the ball to tip more at normal speed,” said Smith, who used a combination of the Storm Pitch Black and IQ Tour/78. “Yesterday, I had to slow the ball down game by game just to get it into a roll.”
His opening stepladder match was against co-qualifying leader William Schumacher, a 31-year-old Mayfield Heights two-handed lefty making his first stepladder appearance. Schumacher earned the final match-play spot by just four pins, throwing a double in the 10th frame of his final game for 202.
Schumacher reached the stepladder by stopping Vargo 387-331 as the latter had three splits in each of his two match-play games, covering the 4-10 twice.
But after a strike in the first frame of the semifinal, Schumacher could do nothing but spare until a double in the 10th frame. That came following open frames in the eighth — when he had a three-count on his first ball — and ninth frames.
“The nerves were OK, but I just could’t get anything to carry this time,” Schumacher said. “In the eighth frame, I was struggling to strike with the Purple Hammer, so I moved in and tried to shape it more with the IQ Tour.
“That was interesting because the left lane bit a little more and the right lane just sailed. That wasn’t the answer.”
On his double in the 10th, Schumacher went back to the Purple Hammer.
“It carried and I was very confused as to why it worked that time,” he added. “Maybe it was better rotation or just the end of the match unfortunately.”
Smith left three splits in the match, but also added strings of three strikes and a double for a 198-171 win.
His problems came on the left lane in the match.
“It was tighter and more sensitive. If you missed a little in or a little out it either hooked a lot quicker or bailed when you threw it left,” Smith said. “I had a little more room on (Lane) 16 right at the start.”
TITLE MATCH
Truman began the title match with a 2-4-10 split and never recovered. He left a pair of 2-8-10 splits in the fourth and eight frames and a 3-4-6-7-9-10 in the sixth.
“I just thew the ball bad … that’s about it,” Truman said. “I got really hot at that point, but he he just bowled better than me. He beat me. It is what it is.”
Was there an adjustment for Truman on the fresh pair?
“It’s hard to tell when you don’t hit what you’re looking at,” Truman added.
Smith liked the fact that the stepladder returned to fresh oil.
“It definitely gave me more confidence,” Smith said. “The righties didn’t have that burnt in track anymore and it was more of a level playing field for me.”
Smith stayed clean until missing a 7-pin spare in the 10th when the match was well in hand. He also converted a 3-5-10 split in the ninth along with a three-strike run from the fourth through sixth to take a big lead.
“This just feels amazing,” said Smith, whose last big win came in the Cleveland Masters several years ago along with a victory on a sports shot during a sweeper at Triway Lanes in Wooster earlier in the season. “For some reason, I just like Masters tournaments.”
Along with the those difficult oil patterns.
NOTEBOOK: The tourney again used the 2019 PBA Scorpion 42-foot pattern for Sunday’s action. Lanes were oiled in the morning prior to the start of competition. … The top six bounced around most of the cashers’ round, with Eric James missing the final cut spot by just four pins after a 182 his final game. Massillon two-handed righty Jesse Gonzales made the cut, but finished 12th overall with 2,813. … Truman had the high series during the five-game cashers’ round with 1,156 (231.2 average), followed by Andrew Smith with 1,125 (225.0). … Vargo and Jesse Smith had the high games of 268, and Truman had 266. … In addition to his $1,500 check, Andrew Smith also received a gift basket of products from tourney sponsor Jack Daniels. … We would also like to thank Demetrius and Kelly Johnson and the HDP Tournament Network for their assistance in our coverage.
UPCOMING HDP EVENTS: HDP again will resume its Sunday sweeper events with a doubles sweeper set for 4:30 p.m. June 2 also at Rollhouse Parma. Teams will bowl four qualifying games with a $120 team entry fee. … Also a Scratch Mixed Shootout is set for 7 p.m. June 28 at Rollhouse Parma. Entry fee is $120, with teams bowling three games. That will be followed by the HDP Queens on June 29 and 30 also at Rollhouse Parma. Entry fee is $105, with first place being worth $2,500. Bowlers will bowl four games Saturday morning and four more Saturday afternoon before the field is cut to the top 16 for four more games Sunday, with pins from Saturday carrying over. After those four games, the field will be cut to the top eight for two-game match play by seed. Those winners will then bowl a stepladder finals. For information on these events, go to the group’s Facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/711194339608613
HIT DEM POCKETS MASTERS
(Sunday at Rollhouse Parma, Parma)
Round of Six
(Two-game cumulative match play)
No. 6 seed William Schumacher d. No. 1 seed Dean Vargo 387-331
No. 4 seed Andrew Smith d. No. 3 seed Antonio Palangio 457-394
No. 2 seed Josh Truman d. No. 5 seed Jesse Smith 486-415.
Final standings: 4, Jesse Smith 415, $450; 5, Antonio Pelangio 394, $400; 6, Dean Vargo 331, $300.
Championship round
Semifinals: Andrew Smith d. Schumacher 198-171; Schumacher wins #$500
Championship: Andrew Smith d. Josh Truman 202-126; Smith wins $1,1500, Truman wins $750
