By BILL SNIER
AKRON — Unlike his opponent, Bryce Oliver had hit the title pair of lanes during his five-game qualifier for the Midwest Scratch Bowling Series Akron Challenge at Station 300 Akron on Sunday.
“I made an adjustment in practice. The left lane had been way tighter and I knew the right lane was going to curve,” said the 23-year-old Cuyahoga Falls two-handed left-hander, who celebrated his birthday Saturday,
“I thought if I just rolled it around the same arrow I was hitting on the right lane, it was going to arc off it. I guess I got it there a little quick and it read early.”
Oliver, who had dominated qualifying as the No. 1 seed by 168 pins, felt he was in trouble at that point against fellow two-handed lefty Ryan Liederbach after leaving a 4-6 split in the first frame on that left lane.
But with his first shot on the right lane, a confused Liederbach left a 4-6-7-10 split on a pair he had not hit in qualifying.
“I was thinking in the back of my head that I knew who my opponent was, and I was expecting him to throw two great shots and double,” said Oliver, who will be a fifth-year senior at the University of Pikeville (Ky.) in September. “When he left the big four, It eased my mind a bit.
“I knew I had to strike on that lane. I made a good educated guess and moved right, threw it slower and got my hand around it. From there, it was off to the races.”
While Liederbach had just one strike on the right lane, Oliver was able to put together a pair of doubles and a run of three in a row to gain a 225-196 win in his first MSBS event.
Using a Purple Hammer most of the day (he did go to a Radical Double Cross for one game in the elimination rounds), Oliver was surprised with what he saw off the start from the 44-foot MSBS “Turtle” oil pattern.
“It really hooked a lot. I threw some random shots in practice and it was, ‘OK, I might have some hook there,’ ” Oliver said. “But there was a cliff already there. My first shot with the Purple, it went sideways after I started with surface. There was no way I couldn’t throw it.
“I really never saw that big transition all day so I never got out of it. I went with my gut, and most of my guesses were right today.”
After averaging 251.8 during qualifying, Oliver was able to advance out of the first seven-bowler, two-game elimination round with 424, standing second behind Pittsburgh right-hander Sam DeWitt. He then shot 202 in the next single-game elimination round to reach the title match.
COMING OFF A WIN
Liederbach, a 27-year-old Northfield resident and Ace Mitchell Bowlers Supply employee, who also was making his first MSBS apperaance, was coming off a personal high after winning his third Professional Bowlers Association regional title Saturday at AMF Riviera Lanes. It was his third overall — the last two coming in the past week.
“I really can’t complain. Today wasn’t my best day, but I still came in second,” said Liederbach, who topped veteran Jean Perez 194-158 for Saturday’s win. “It was a good weekend.”
Liederbach, using his Radical Rattler NU most of the day, was fourth after qualifying while averaging 213. Holding an 89-pin lead over the No. 5 qualifier Dustin Sword heading into the first elimination round, Liederbach shot just 339 but secured the final wild-card spot into the four-player single-elimination round with 1,404 over seven games, 84 pins in front of Vicktor Varner (1,320).
He then had the high game of 242 in the final-four elimination round to reach the title match.
TITLE MATCH
But Liederbach was confused by his ball reaction during his first look at the title pair.
“The lanes were breaking down and I saw it in practice,” said Liederbach, as each player had two balls on each lane for practice. “I was hesitant to throw the Rattler NU because it picked up immediately.
“It might have held off, but where it read in the midlane, I wasn’t very confident in it. That might have hurt me in the end. My last shot in practice with the reactive ball it went smoothly through the hook spot and I thought, ‘OK, that looked good.” And then the first shot of the match goes through the face.”
After opening with his split, Oliver had a double before leaving back-to-back 7- and 6-pin spares. He then ran off three more strikes in a row.
Liederbach had just one strike through five frames, switching to a DV8 Wicked Collision on the right lane. But his only strike on that lane came to complete a double in the eighth and ninth frames. He then left a 2-pin on his first ball in the 10th to end his chances.
“The right lane was just lost for me at least. I just couldn’t figure it out,” Liederbach said. “After what happened in the first frame, the ball just kept getting higher and higher, which is what I saw in practice. This pair was just way different and I had no idea what to expect.”
Oliver was able to throw three more strikes in the 10th to finish off the win.
“This month has been a struggle, but that’s bowling,” said Oliver, who will finish his tournament season next week in Louisville, Ky., with the MEGA in the Ville. “I wasn’t throwing the ball that well this month.
“But this was a great start to get through next week’s mental grind.”
Liederbach, who feels that bowling more games the better, also will be in Louisville next weekend.
“I didn’t have one strike on the first ball in the 10th frame all day. When I needed it most in that match, I thought it was going to hook more and it did nothing,” Liederbach said. “But this helps my confidence going to next week.”
Oliver, who is majoring in communications at Pikeville, hopes to combine bowling with his chosen field.
“I’d like to find a job in the industry. The other side of the sport is really cool, and I would really like to get a job with a company and help grow the sport and bowl at the same time,” Oliver said. “That’s the plan.”
But Oliver also knows there’s no perfect scenario.
“Usually, you don’t throw perfect all day,” he added. “But today was a really good day.”
STATION 300 CHANGES
Despite a limited field, Station 300 was able to highlight changes it has made during the offseason, including new lane surfaces and a new scoring system.
“We’ve got the lanes and approaches done, which were absolutely needed, and finished off the scoring system with new flat-screen monitors,” Michael Monroe, Station 300 president, said. “We’ve gone as far as we can go at both of those ends.”
Next up will be the addition of new masking units for the lanes “to give us more of a look at the back of the center,” Monroe added.
Station 300 also has reopened its miniature golf course located on the south side of the center.
“Now, it’s focusing on the maintenance issues moving forward. Our pinsetters obviously were a big issue with everyone,” said Monroe, whose company took over the former Stonehedge Family Fun Center a year ago. “We’re going to keep pushing and making as many upgrades as we can and make them until, at the end of the day, we feel comfortable with where we are at.”
Monroe emphasized that the company considers Station 300 Akron a “tournament house.”
“We came out of the blocks saying let’s take that back,” Monroe said, adding Station 300 will be the site of the 2025 Ohio State USBC Open Championships singles and doubles as it returns to Summit County for the first time in many years.
“We’re willing to work with all the centers in Summit and Stark counties. We let them know that we are willing to host events.”
One major change is going from the former wood approaches to new synthetics.
“We had to do that,” Monroe said. “They had not been screened and coated for so long that there were some built in dips in some of them. If we didn’t, we might still be coating them.”
The masking units, new lighting and adding items to the now blank sidewalls are ways of “brightening” the center.
“People forget how much maintenance there is in a bowling center, and it continues on,” Monroe said. “When you circle back around and you think you have done everything, there is always something else.”
The Akron Open, set for Aug. 23 through 25, will be the first major event held at the center with a full field expected.
“The gutter caps and gutters were just as important as the approaches just for the cosmetic look alone,” Malone said. “I think there are going to be a lot of smiling faces when they see what we’ve done.”
NOTEBOOK: The event drew a disappointing 24 players and used just six pairs, with four bowlers per lane, at the high end of the center. MSBS tournament director Brian Regan plans on returning next season, but probably will change his dates. … Only four players averaged over 200 during qualifying on the MSBC oil pattern, with the cut being a Kyle Drazil at 944, just 15 pins ahead of Tim Jones. … The format after qualifying was two-game elimination for the top seven with no pinfall carryover. The one position where there was carryover was for the fourth spot into the second single-game elimination round, which added a wild-card bowler to the top three (Liederbach earned that spot). The final two elimination rounds (four and two) were single-game rounds. … Each elimination round was bowled on separate pairs. There was no re-oiling after qualifying. … Oliver posted the high game of 277 in Game 1 of qualifying. … Our thanks to Regan for assisting with our report. To learn more about upcoming MSBS event go to https://www.scratchbowling.com/tournament
MSBS AKRON CHALLENGE
(Sunday, Station 300, Akron)
Elimination Round I
(Two-game series with top three advancing, plus one wild card)
(Positions 5 through 7 each receive $100)
Sam DeWitt 436, Bryce Oliver 424, Eli Mayberry 415, Vicktor Varner 345, Ryan Liederbach 339, Kyle Grazil 334, Dustin Sword 317 (Liederbach was wild card with 1,404 total pinfall)
Elimination Round II
(Top two advance to title match; non-advancers earn $180 each)
Ryan Liederbach 242, Bryce Oliver 202, Eli Mayberry 178, Sam DeWitt 175
Championship
(Winner earns $600, runner-up earns $300)
Bryce Oliver d. Ryan Liederbach 225-196
