By BILL SNIER
NORTH CANTON — Rolling multiple 800 series and 300 games in one bowling season is not unfamiliar territory for Jason Corrin.
But to say he is rolling in rarified air this season would be an understatement.
Since September, the 45-year-old Massillon left-hander has:
- Five 800 series, with a high of 845, including three at Eastbury Bowling Center in Canton and two at Park Centre Lanes in North Canton, to bring his career total to 16;
- Three 300 games, to bring his career total to 20; and
- Just for good measure, two 299 games and a pair of 295 games.
“This is the most flabbergasting thing I’ve ever seen,” said Corrin, whose latest accomplishment was rolling 800 series back-to-back just two days apart at Park Centre and Eastbury.
“I’ve never been on a run like this. I’ve had stretches where I’ve had three 800s and three 300s in a season, but nothing this close together.”
During both series — an 813 in the Green Anchor-SharpShooters league at Park Centre and 805 in Saturday Night Mixed at Eastbury — Corrin started “relatively slow” by his standards with 255 and 247, respectively.
One key aspect of his run is, he has used four different pieces of equipment for the milestones. At Park Centre this time, he used a Hammer Arctic Vibe; at Eastbury, it was the Hammer Scorpion Low Flare.
“The best part has been that not one ball in particular is working for me,” Corrin said. “I’ve used a majority of my arsenal. I don’t remember every having this much confidence in every piece in my bag as I’ve had this year.”
And part of that confidence comes from his discussions with Tuesday teammate and Canton left-hander Alex McCourry, who also has a pair of 800 series this season. The friends bowl together at Spins Bowl-Akron.
“He gives me advice and it falls right into what I need to do,” said Corrin, a manager at a Walmart Vision Center. “I’m listening when I’m getting advice and, because of that, it has put my game in a great spot.’
What do the pair discuss?
“Alex is helping me to pay attention to the pins more. He helps me in paying attention to what’s falling, how they’re falling and where they are falling,” Corrin said. “It helps me in making the proper ball change before I completely lose all of it.
“Usually, I can make changes,, but I either don’t make it right or I make it too late. He has helped me to be on time with that and keeping me ahead of where I need to be.”
TWO 800 RUNS
In his opening 800 at Park Centre, Corrin came off the 255 to add 268 and 290 the final game.
“After the second game, I’m in the 520s and I have no clue what’s going on,” said Corrin, who left a 7-pin on his first ball in Game 3. “I missed on that first ball the next game so I felt like, ‘Hey, I gave it a run.’
“But then I kept running them into the eighth frame and it was like, ‘just give me two more any way.’ And I end up running the last 11 to get there.”
The fact that the Arctic Vibe ended up in his bag was purely by accident.
“That ball has worked unbelievably well (at Park Centre) and it was by accident really,” said Corrin, whose line stayed steady from 15 (board) to seven. “After Tuesdays, I usually try to put my (Roto Grip) Infused back in the bag, but I forgot it and had no choice a couple of weeks ago but to go to that.
“They are similar in the way they play, so I figured I would at least have a reaction I could work around. But it has been lights out in this house.”
Then came Saturday at Eastbury — and going with his Scorpion Low Flare.
“That ball plays just different enough for me there,” Corrin said. “The funny thing is, I haven’t used either of those balls before in any 800s.”
In Game 1 that night, a teammate, Laura Beltz, was using a new ball and went on to roll 267 out of the gate.
“We were just making jokes the whole game. I was just trying to keep up with her,” Corrin said.
But things turned serious in Game 2, when Corrin — who finished Game 1 with the last four — ran off the first 11 in a row before finishing with 299.
“After I had the front nine, I just walked back and told my teammates this makes no sense. I just don’t understand this year or what’s going on right now,” Corrin said.
But nerves finally caught up on his final shot of that game.
“As many as I’ve had, I was honestly nervous on that shot,” Corrin said. “The ball no more hit the lane than I knew I had messed up. I’ve never had four 300s in a season and that was a big deal. It felt like I was going for my second all over again.”
With where he was heading into Game 3, Corrin just “didn’t want to completely destroy the night.”
Playing a “tighter” 15 (board) to 10 line, he finished with 259 for the final count.
“I didn’t want to play that line on purpose, but it worked out for me,” said Corrin, whose last 800 before this streak came in December 2023.
After this 2024 run, what can he do to add to it in 2025?
“I’m just hoping to maintain everything that has gone right this year. If the scores go along with it, they go along with it,” Corrin said.
“I feel like I’ve grown a lot in the last year when it comes to my game and that’s something I usually don’t have the luxury of saying.”