By BILL SNIER
CANTON — After taking some of the summer off from bowling, fatigue finally caught up to Cleveland left-hander Dell Ray Jr.
But it wasn’t enough to cost him the lead in the seventh annual BowlerX Ohio Masters.
Ray averaged just 218.8 over the second five-game set after averaging 261 during the opening five, but held the lead with 2,399 — 63 pins ahead of his nearest competitor.
“My biggest problem tonight was fatigue,” said the 24-year-old tax analyst, who shot his first under 200 game (199) in Game 10 on the day.
“The lanes really weren’t any different. I just threw more bad sots than the other set. I missed the move a couple of times. I would say it was more self really than the lanes.”
Ray, who again went with his Hammer Purple, was never out of the lead after taking it in Game 4 of the opening five-game qualifying round, which cut the field from 92 to 46 players for the second shift.
Chasing Ray are James Nolen, who finished at 2,336 after also sitting second following the opening round; two-handed righty Zander Crouch (2,325), who shot the day’s lone 300 in the opening set; righty Ty McKinney (2,309), who shot 836 over his final three games of the opening set; and Jesse Smith (2,303), who averaged 237 over the final five games to jump from 12th to fifth.
Nolen shot 268 in Game 4 of the second shift to get himself back into position.
“I needed that after the start I had,” said the right-handed 28-year-old Howland electrician, who started with 187 on the night shift. “The lanes got a little tighter and I just didn’t throw it as great.”
Nolen, who also takes summers off from bowling and is “just starting to get back into the swing of things,” bowled the Akron Open last weekend to begin his season.
“After I bowl nationals, I take the summer off to recuperate. I had some little release issues coming back out in the second half,” said Nolen, who went with a Storm Ion Pro most of the day and switched to the Summit Ascent “to get something a little more so I could move a little left and wheel it.”
BATTLING FOR TWO CUTS
The battles were for the eighth and 24th spots in the final 46-player field. The top eight players receive a first-round bye during Sunday’s two-game match-play rounds.
With his 258 in Game 10 overall, Bradly Adler earned the eighth spot with 2,258, finishing just five pins ahead of 2022 Ohio Masters champ Dean Vargo, who shot 227 the final game to finish ninth.
The race to 24 also came down to the final game, with Tim Jones shooting 221 to earn the final spot with 2,139 — his highest game of the set.
But two players who were out of the cut going into the final game — former Walsh University player Robert Wilson and Jackson Township’s T.J. Charles — made their moves to get into the final 24 along with Franklin’s Nolan White.
Charles, who was hampered by left knee and thigh problems, shot 248 the final game to get to 22nd, while White had 229 (23rd) and Wilson 212 (21st).
“Ouch is all I really have to say after that,” said Charles, a 41-year-old right-hander who was the Northeast Ohio Traveling League’s most valuable player and sportsman of the year last season. “It was very stressful. I didn’t think I made it truthfully after leaving that 3-pin (second ball in the 10th frame). I thought that cost me.”
But Sunday is a whole new game, with bowlers rolling two-game matches by seed to determine a champion. The matches for players seeded nine through 24 begin at 10 a.m.
“I just have to focus up a little more,” Ray said.
“I figure they are going to get tighter as we go,” Nolen said. “I’m just going to have to see what is in front of me and what everyone is throwing.”
NOTEBOOK: All four former champions in the field earned spots in the top 24, including Charles Easton (seventh), Vargo (ninth), Jeff Fehr (12th) and Zeke Bayt (20th). … High game of the second set was 280 by Vargo in Game 4, with Crouch having the lone 300 during qualifying. … Brooklyn lefty Kevin Cowper averaged 235 over his final five games to jump from 41st after the opening five games to 14th overall (2,208). Others who were out of the top 24 going into the final five games were Jalen Mosley, who averaged 237 the second set to move from 25th to 10th; Bayt, who went from 30th to 20th; and Chad Roberts, who went from 33rd to 17th. Jones fell from ninth after the opening five games to the cut line. … Sunday’s top 24 will all cash, with first place being worth $1,600 and places 17th to 24th being worth $250. … TMT Bowling and Bowling HQ will be live-streaming Sunday’s match play at:
https://youtube.com/@bowlerhq?feature=shared
… Our thanks to tournament director Dawn Altimore-Eckenrode and Kim Hogue for their assistance with this report.
