By BILL SNIER
ALLIANCE — Josh Haddad made a decision during qualifying to change bowling balls and “just start chucking it.”
It proved to be a tournament-winning move.
Haddad was averaging 204 through the opening three games of the Ted Nagle Memorial scratch singles tournament when he decided it was time for a adjustment.
“I started with my (Storm) Axiom Pearl, but it wasn’t working. The ball just wasn’t finishing,” the 40-year-old Perry Township right-hander said. “So I decided to switch to my (900 Global Wolverine) Dark Moss, moved left, moved in and started chucking the ball basically.”
His ball change and strategy gave him a look no one else had during Sunday’s stepladder finals of the Nagle Memorial at Christopher Columbus Lanes as the fifth-seeded Haddad topped No. 1 seed Josh Truman 244-195 in the title match.
After sitting 13th after the opening three games, Haddad’s strategy change produced a 704 over his final three games (234.6 average) to push him to the final spot in the five-man stepladder finals at “The Christopher — a 12-lane wood center with old-fashioned telescores, over the top ball returns and walls tight to the approaches on the left side of Lane 1 and right side of Lane 12 using a house oil pattern of 43 feet.
”I was telling Alex (Lincoln) that I was throwing the ball harder than I normally do. I actually tore up my thumb a bit,” said Haddad, who was making his first appearance in the event. “I was probably a mile to a mile-and-a-half faster. I’m usually around 17 (mph). I didn’t have the biggest room for error, but it seemed to work.
“I had to move about six boards right, which is a little deeper than I’m really comfortable with. I just put it down right in the middle and would swing it out to around 13 (board). It’s a lot straighter, but I was in further. And I went straighter as I went on.”
TOUGH OPENER
To earn the title, Haddad faced his toughest match in his opener against 58-year-old Perry Township right-hander Roger Webb, the No. 4 seed.
Webb had the first six strikes while Haddad had the first five — ultimately, the longest runs of two players in the stepladder finals. But Webb left a costly 4-6-7 split in the ninth frame, getting two pins.
That’s when the discrepancy happened.
“We really couldn’t see the scoresheet, but I thought I could strike out for 245,” Haddad said.
Haddad left a 4-pin on his first ball in the 10th frame, spared and then struck for 246. But Webb’s score on the sheet was off two pins. He had a double and then got nine on his final ball, leaving a 4-pin. It produced a tie at 246.
“We had both already said our ‘good games’ before the 10th frame. Roger thought it was over,” Haddad said. “But instead, it was really close.”
“I didn’t know. I thought I was just up there finishing out the game until we realized what happened,” Webb said.
What came next was a two-frame rolloff, which Haddad won 49-39 after a double in the 10th frame following a 4-pin spare. Webb struck on his first ball but left a 6-10 spare on his second.
From there, Haddad pretty much had his way with the field.
HEADING TO THE FINALS
Next, Haddad took on 31-year-old Garfield Heights left-hander Andrew Smith, a PBA Central Region player who had alternated with Truman for the lead throughout the six-game qualifying round. In fact, Smith beat Truman for the Hit Dem Pockets Masters title in May at Rollhouse Parma.
Smith, one of only two lefties in the 38-player field, earned the No. 3 seed by averaging 224.8, but shot just 178 during his final qualifying game.
The left lane proved to be the problem for the lefty as he struck just once during the match en en route to a 219-204 loss, also missing a 7-pin spare along the way. He finished with just one double.
But Haddad, again, started with the first four strikes to build a big lead before back-to-back 4-pin spares in the fifth and sixth. He then had another double before his first open — a 2-10 split in the ninth.
“It was important for me in all the matches to get off to a good start and kind of jump out in front,” Haddad said.
Next up was defending champion Matt Bertolette, the No. 2 seed who averaged 228 during qualifying. He stopped Alliance’s Kevin Schott 214-210 for the 2023 crown.
This time, after a strike to start the match, the 39-year-old Columbiana right-hander could muster just three other doubles along the way.
Haddad, as he had done in his two previous matches, went on a run early with five straight strikes before leaving a 3-6-10 spare in the sixth. He then threw three more in a row to close out Bertolette.
“If you got the ball out early or quick, it was going to go through the nose,” said Bertolette, who now owns two thirds, a second and a first in the event. “It was a typical house shot toward the end. Once I got the ball to the right, it was gone.”
Bertolette also is dealing with some health issues at this point.
“There’s a good chance I will have to have surgery,” he added without going into detail. “This might be my last tournament for a while. I have to take care of these issues first and we’ll see what happens.”
TITLE MATCH
Haddad did not get off to as fast a start in the title match, leaving a solid 9-pin spare in the second frame.
No worries. He ended up striking on eight of his first nine shots overall to still put away the top-seeded Truman early.
Truman, also making his first tourney appearance as was Smith, had averaged 232.3 during qualifying to top the field with 1,394 total pinfall. But he admittedly made the wrong moves on the title pair.
“I chased it in and I think I probably should have been more right,” said Truman, 41-year-old LaGrange right-hander and part-time PBA Central Region player. “These were old wood lanes and they got a little toasty late in the day. I just played them in the wrong area.”
Truman started with a strike, but then left a 2-10 split which he covered. Then came back-to-back 4-pin spares, followed by a 2-6-10 spare and a 6-7-10 split. When he did make the move right, he struck on four of his next five shots after the split.
“It was just weird. I go 4-pin, 4-pin, through the face, make a huge jump right and caught a little something there,” Truman said. “I wish I would have tried it earlier, but, oh well.
“The lanes were pretty consistent during qualifying, but they weren’t easy. It was a little finicky and with the above-ground ball returns, it was another thing in play to make it interesting. It was a unique center and I enjoyed bowling in it. I definitely would come back.”
In addition to his first Nagle appearance, it also marked the first time Haddad had run the stepladder to claim a title.
“Hey if you’re the fifth seed, you’re going to have to bowl four games so you might as well do it,” said the TCC-Verizon Wireless employee, who also has a Furbay Electric Open title to go along with the Klonowski.
Haddad had the Klonowski win along with his RJ Flooring team capturing the 2023-24 Northeast Ohio Travel League title.
“I really haven’t had any honor scores or anything individually recently. I’ve always been more of a team player,” Haddad said. “But to have things like this happen individually also is pretty cool.”
NOTEBOOK: The day started with 38 players, but righty Brett McCourry was forced to withdraw at the beginning of Game 5 due to illness. Other early withdrawals were by Brian Buehler and Joe DeJesus. … Truman finished 24 pins ahead of Bertolette (1,370) to earn the No. 1 seed after the latter shot 269 his final game. … Roger Webb shot 265 his final qualifying game to jump from seventh to fourth. … High game of the day was Bobby Kinser with 277 in Game 2. Smith shot both 264 and 267 to go along with Webb and Bertolette. … Kinser, among the top five from Games 2 through 5, shot 211 his final game and missed the cut to the stepladder by just 10 pins. … The final cash spot in 10th place went to 2022 champion Mike Adams with 1,236, seven pins ahead of Chase Barstow. … Only 15 players in the field averaged 200 or better. … Louisville righty Kara Kutz was the lone woman in the field, finishing 19th (193.6 average). … Bowlers hit every pair of lanes during qualifying before Lanes 3-4 were used for the stepladder. … The former Christmas Eve event, which is in its 10th year overall, was moved to an earlier date seven years ago. … The next Alliance event will be the third annual Alliance Masters, set for Feb. 23 at Christopher Columbus and Elks Lodge Lanes. Contact Chris Miller for entry information. … Our thanks to Dawn Altimore-Eckenrode and Chris Miller for their assistance with this report.
TED NAGLE MEMORIAL SCRATCH SINGLES
(Sunday, at Christopher Columbus Lanes, Alliance)
Stepladder finals
Game 1: Josh Haddad tied Roger Webb 246-246 (Haddad won two-frame rolloff 49-39); Webb wins $160
Game 2: Haddad d. Andrew Smith 219-204; Smith wins $180
Game 3: Haddad d. Matt Bertolette 254-219; Bertolette wins $225
Championship: Haddad d. Josh Truman 244-195; Haddad wins $500, Truman wins $300
Other cashers
(Based on six-game qualifying scores)
6, Bobby Kinser 1,307, $100 earnings; 7, Richard Stoffer 1,290, $90; 8, Bob Eckenrode 1,279, $80; 9, Adam Kutz 1,255, $70; 10, Mike Adams 1,236, $70
