By NOLAN HUGHES
PBA Communications
RENO, Nev. — The PBA Regional Players Invitational (RPI) is the season finale of the PBA Regional Tour season and is being held at the National Bowling Stadium.
Champions of the PBA and PBA50 divisions will earn $15,000 and $10,000, respectively, as well as a berth in their respective Tournament of Champions next season
All qualifying rounds are livestreamed on BowlTV.
PBA Division
So far this year, Tim Foy Jr. has made the PBA Delaware Classic finals to earn his first national championship round appearance on TV, won an Eagle in the USBC Open Championships and dominated the PBA East Region to secure Player of the Year honors.
“If you told me I sold my soul to the devil, I’d believe you at this point,” Foy said. “ I think Trevor (Roberts) really deserved that Round of 24 match, but I just got breaks at the right time. Whether it be my opponent giving me a break or I caught a break, things are going my way for now.”
Foy defeated Roberts in the Round of 24 before taking down Cameron Weier in the Round of 16. He advanced to Sunday’s final day of competition and feels full of confidence.
“If I make 10 good shots a game, I can beat anyone,” Foy said. “That’s how I feel. It doesn’t matter who I face — it could be Belmo or Simo — if I make 10 high quality shots, I truly feel like I will beat anyone.”
Foy’s opponent on Sunday morning will be the newly crowned PBA Rookie of the Year, Nate Purches.
Purches snuck into the Round of 8 after a five-game thriller with Evan Nash. Needing a double to win Game 5, Nash left a stone 8-pin and evoked memories of the one and only Randy Pedersen.
Also advancing to the Round of 8 in the PBA division are top-seeded Manny Ferrell, David Lance, Brandon Kring, Evan Genz, Trey Ford III and Nick Borgaro.
Northfield’s Ryan Liederbach was the lone area player to reach the match-play rounds, finishing 20th after qualifying with 3,898 through 18 games. He was eliminated by Evan Genz during the first-round of match play 3-1 in a best-of-five match.
Sunday Schedule
Round of 8 (best of five games): Noon ET
Semifinals (best of three games): 2:30 p.m. ET
Championship (single game): 4:30 p.m. ET
Round of 24 Results
No. 16 TJ Rock def. No. 17 Lanndyn Carnate, 3-0
No. 9 Kevin McCune def. No. 24 Bailey Mavrick, 3-2
No. 21 Brandon Kring def. No. 12 Tim Ursillo, 3-1
No. 13 Evan Genz def. No. 20 Ryan Liederbach, 3-1
No. 19 Nate Garcia def. No. 14 Nickolas Freiberg, 3-2
No. 22 Mikey Schlabach def. No. 11 François Lavoie, 3-0
No. 23 Tim Foy Jr. def. No. 10 Trevor Roberts, 3-2
No. 18 Nate Purches def. No. 15 Zach Weidman, 3-2
Round of 16 Results
No. 1 Manny Ferrell def. No. 16 TJ Rock, 3-1
No. 8 David Lance def. No. 9 Kevin McCune, 3-0
No. 21 Brandon Kring def. No. 5 Mike Ruben, 3-0
No. 13 Evan Genz def. No. 4 Ryan Barnes, 3-1
No. 3 Trey Ford III def. No. 19 Nate Garcia, 3-1
No. 6 Nick Borgaro def. No. 22 Mikey Schlabach, 3-0
No. 23 Tim Foy Jr. def. No. 7 Cameron Weier, 3-1
No. 18 Nate Purches def. No. 2 Evan Nash, 3-2
Round of 8 Matches
No. 1 Manny Ferrell vs. No. 8 David Lance
No. 21 Brandon Kring vs. No. 13 Evan Genz
No. 3 Trey Ford III vs. No. 6 Nick Borgaro
No. 23 Tim Foy Jr. vs. No. 18 Nate Purches
PBA50 Division
In the PBA50 division, top qualifiers Rick Benard, Rich Corwin, Chris Warren and Randy Weiss enjoyed the night off after earning a bye to the Round of 8.
Warren, whose name is honored on the RPI trophy, will look to capture his 60th career PBA Regional Tour title on Sunday.
Eugene McCune, Shawn Horenberger, Rick Graham and Darryl Bower each won their Round of 16 matches to advance to Sunday morning’s action.
Among area players missing the cut to the top 12, Vermillion’s John Shreve Jr. finished 25th (3,586), North Olmsted’s Michael Clark Jr. was 26th (3,571) and Painesville’s Butch Ferrell was 27th (3,570).
Sunday Schedule
Round of 8 (best of five games): Noon ET
Semifinals (best of three games): 2:30 p.m. ET
Championship (single game): 4 p.m. ET
Round of 16 Results
No. 9 Eugene McCune def. No. 8 David Leverage
No. 12 Shawn Horenberger def. No. 5 Anthony Jovanovich
No. 6 Rick Graham def. No. 11 Jeff Atkins
No. 10 Darryl Bower def. No. 7 Jeff Johnson
Round of 8 Matches
No. 1 Rick Benard vs. No. 9 Eugene McCune
No. 4 Randy Weiss vs. No. 12 Shawn Horenberger
No. 3 Chris Warren vs. No. 6 Rick Graham
No. 2 Rich Corwin vs. No. 10 Darryl Bower