By BILL SNIER
NORTH CANTON — Despite not posting a victory in College Bowl Tournaments series history, Brett McCourry made a commitment to start the 2024-25 season.
“I have never had a chance to bowl all of (tournament director Jeff DiMarzio’s) events in the past,” the 32-year-old Canton right-hander said. “But I made a promise this season that I would bowl all of them and see how we fared mentally and financially.
“It’s been working out so far.”
After shooting 804 over the first three qualifying games, the top-seeded McCourry was able to claim a pair of match-play wins before stopping Jim Williams 262-207 in the title match of Saturday’s CBT Series singles event at Park Centre Lanes.
“I’ve just got shivers everywhere,” McCourry said, smiling. “I feel just like J.D. Jones (a good friend who has a history of wins in local events but still is recovering from a hand injury).”
After starting with 246 in Game 1 of qualifying, McCourry posted back-to-back 279s to take the lead, finishing with 226 for 1,030 total pinfall (257.5 average) to earn the No. 1 seed by just three pins over right-hander Ryan Suter, who shot 245 his final game.
“Park Centre is hard and it can be easy. There is just so much friction to the right and the wet in the middle,” said McCourry, who used his Roto Grip Hustle X-Ray all during qualifying. “You have to play the friction. I have speed on my side usually so I always try to use the friction as much as I can. So, all day, I played as straight as I could.
“As soon as you start giving the pocket away, you still have to get to the friction. But if you get there too late or too early, you get yourself in trouble.”
GETTING TO NO. 2
Williams, a 64-year-old Canton Township left-hander who claimed the CBT Series 2021-22 finale, had entered Game 4 of qualifying in sixth place overall, just 12 pins off the cut line for the eight-man match-play round.
He shot just 216 in his final game.
“I thought I was done,” said Williams, who underwent surgery on his right shoulder in April. “I had changed my shoes and was putting everything away. I figured I still had a chance to cash, but making the finals was a surprise.”
Williams, the No. 7 seed, earned his spot in match play by just two pins.
He faced No. 2-seeded Suter in his opening match, throwing five straight strikes at the end to earn a 259-237 win — the top two scores rolled in the opening round.
“That first match was a bit of a grind. I knew I had to go out to shut him out because the best he could get to was 258,” Williams said.
In the semifinals against Massillon right-hander Brian Ball, who has three CBT Series wins in his last four outings, Williams was able to string six strikes in a row in the fourth through ninth frames en route to a 246-163 win. Ball had three open frames in the match.
“I pretty much was able to play the same all day,” said Williams, who started the day with his Brunswick Beyond Infinity and transitioned to the Storm Electrify in the 10th frame of Game 2 of qualifying and went the rest of the way with that ball.
“I had to move about two boards right in the last match and project the ball farther down the lane.”
GOING TO TITLE MATCH
McCourry faced off against No. 8 seed Branden Ball in his opening match, as the latter earned the final spot by just one pin over Bradley Stevens after shooting 278 his final game to jump from 24th to eighth.
McCourry was able to pull out a 226-213 win in a tight match.
But in the semifinals, McCourry threw strikes on seven of his first eight shots to stop right-hander Brian Scott Esterle 245-226, despite leaving a 4-9 split in the 10th frame.
McCourry was the only non-senior player among the final four.
Again in the title match, McCourry got on a roll early, striking on his first four shots before leaving a 2-4-8-10 split in the fifth.
“I was not ideal on that shot. I just missed wide right,” said McCourry, who operates his own landscaping business and also works at Cutting Edge Pro Shop at Station 300 in Akron during the offseason. “Usually at Park Centre, when you miss right there is a built in wall out there.
“Today, if you missed left, you got some help. But if you missed right, they weren’t as crispy. They were nice for me and held up very well. I didn’t have to move much.”
Meanwhile, Williams had strikes on three of his four shots, but left a 4-6-7-10 split in the fifth.
“I just came around the ball early instead of staying behind it,” Williams said. “I didn’t have any forward roll on it and it just hit flat.”
After his split, McCourry ran strikes the rest of the way while Williams left 6- and 7-pin spares in the eighth and ninth to fall off the pace.
“After where I was after qualifying, I’m happy with second,” Williams said. “I didn’t expect to make it this far.”
On a later Facebook post, McCourry had one explanation: “Bowling is weird I swear.”
After a less than stellar performance Friday in the Liberty Vending league at Eastbury Bowling Center, McCourry admittedly was not brimming with confidence coming into the tournament despite reaching match play during the first two in the series this season.
“But today,” McCourry said, “makes all this worthwhile.”
NOTEBOOK: The tournament drew a 46-player field, with 37 players averaging 200 or better on the Park Centre house oil pattern. … Branden Ball was the cutline with 942 (235.5 average), one pin ahead of Stevens and two ahead of Mike Spitale Jr. (940). Six players were within 20 pins of the last cut spot, with Stevens (225) and Ryan Trowbridge (217) falling out of the top eight in Game 4. … It took a mark of 927 (231.75) to earn a cash spot in the top 13, with Tucker Robbins taking that final spot by five pins over Zach McCutchan. … Rob Sample had the day’s high game with 289 in Game 2. … The next CBT Series event will be a regular doubles, set for 10 a.m. Dec. 7 at Eastbury. All tournaments are bowled on house oil patterns. Entry fee is $130 per team, with teams again bowling four games, with the cut to be determined by the number of entries. To enter, contact Jeff DiMarzio via Facebook or go to the CBT group page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1732438633645945
COLLEGE BOWL TOURNAMENTS SINGLES
(Saturday, at Park Centre Lanes, North Canton)
Quarterfinal matches
(Losers each receive $140)
No. 1 Brett McCourry d. No. 8 Branden Ball 226-213
No. 7 Jim Williams d. No. 2 Ryan Suter 259-237
No 3 Brian Ball d. No. 6 Rob Sample 235-201
No. 4 Brian Scott Esterle d. No. 5 Bob Eckenrode 213-205
Semifinal matches
(Losers each receive $220)
McCourry d. Esterle 245-226
Williams d. Brian Ball 246-163
Championship
(Winner receives $500; loser receives $320)
McCourry d. Williams 262-207
Other cashers
(Based on four-game qualifying totals; each receives $80)
9, Bradley Stevens 941; 10, Mike Spitale Jr. 940; 11, Ryan Trowbridge 935; 12, Martin Rigby 931; 13, Tucker Robbins 927.