By BILL SNIER
KENT — David Randazzo is not a proponent of individual practice sessions.
“I pretty much use leagues as my practice sessions,” the 30-year-old Stow right-hander said. “I bowled two or three nights a week in the summer, but that was probably too much.”
He did go out a few times with his girlfriend between the end of summer leagues and the start of the 2024-25 fall-winter season.
But he didn’t expect the start he had in the Garden Spot league at Spins Bowl Kent recently.
Using his 2018 Hammer Purple, Randazzo had games of 280, 300 and 264 for a career high 844 series on opening night.
He now owns 10 800 series to go along with 15 300 games.
“It was just one of those nights where I was going with the flow,” said Radazzo, an assistant manager for O’Reilly Auto Parts. “I was throwing it well and didn’t have to move all night. It ended up working.”
It came after Randazzo had started the week with a 530 series Monday at Kent Lanes. His career series came Wednesday.
“I just really had a bad night,” Randazzo said of Monday. “Then I go out there and bowl my ass off.”
Randazzo ran off 26 straight strikes on the night, throwing the final 10 in Game 1, followed by his 300 and starting Game 3 with the front four.
The Hammer Purple is the ball he goes to when he “needs to straighten myself out.”
“I haven’t touched the surface of that ball since I got it. I know when my timing is off … when I’m moving left and hooking the whole lane it can throw me off,” Randazzo said. “I go to the Purple and it allows me to move back right and keep the ball in front of me instead of doing the same thing over and over when it’s not working.”
Randazzo is bowling in two fall-winter leagues, including the Northeast Ohio Traveling League, which had its second week Thursday at Clutch Lanes and Sports Center in Cuyahoga Falls. He is averaging 221 through the first two weeks.
“I actually thought I was throwing the ball better last week in travel league,” Randazzo said. “I was getting the ball off my hand and able to get it to the right.”
But the next night following his big series, Randazzo again started strong with 279 and 243. But he had to keep moving left, didn’t make a change and ended with just 170.
“I know when things are off when I start hyping myself up and start getting too fast,” Randazzo said. “Timing is always the key with me.”
But the timing of his big series surprised him.
“I didn’t see that coming this early,” he added.