By BILL SNIER
CANTON — A pair of “tired, part-time” bowlers met for the title Saturday during the College Bowl Tournaments Series singles event at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes.
But the pair had different stories was to how they got to this point.
Joe Hostetler, a 36-year-old Cuyahoga Falls right-hander, overcame back trouble to earn his second singles title in the series, stopping Tony Carson 244-236 in the title match.
Hostetler suffered a back injury Thursday at work.
“I was doing a lab for a patient and I was reaching over when my back went out (Thursday),” said Hostetler, who is employed by Neighborhood Family Practice in Cleveland. “I took a lot of Ibuprofen just to get through league Thursday night.”
But after taking the pills, he managed to shoot a 300 game at Kent Lanes. So when he got up to leave for Saturday’s event, he employed the same strategy.
“I was about to leave and I thought I should take more in case of,” said Hostetler, who bowls just one league and only a limited tournament schedule due to family and work responsibilities.
The strategy worked again as Hostetler was able to shoot 290 in Game 1 and 289 in Game 4 of the four-game qualifier to earn the No. 1 seed for the eight-man, single-game match-play rounds with 1,068 total pinfall (a 267 average).
“I threw the same ball (Storm Virtual Energy Blackout) during qualifying and I was just sort of tricking it throughout the day,” said Hostetler, who claimed his first singles title in the series since September 2022. “I was rolling the ball and lofting it depending on the lanes.
“Every time I tried to get out of it, the ball reaction just wasn’t the same. So I just stayed with it and lofted it instead. Everything else, when I got it to the dry, it would come off too hard and 4-pin, or it wouldn’t hook when I got it in. But this ball I could get a light mixer rather than 2-pin, so I stayed with it and tricked it to make it work … just angles and deciding whether or not to loft it.”
Outside of the CBT Series events and occasional trips to Pennsylvania for HIles Bowling Tournament events in the Pittsburgh area, Hostetler is limited to one league, occasional practices and caring for his 19-month-old daughter, Sophia, along with his wife, Professional Women’s Bowing Association member Rocio Restrepo, who is practicing and training to return for the upcoming season.
“It was a little difficult getting used to it,” said Hostetler, when asked if bowling and practicing a lot less have hurt his game. “I used to be about practice, practice and, if I missed it, it led to me not throwing it well.
“But I’ve learned to not worry about practicing and not being as sharp coming in. It is what it is and I still manage. If it doesn’t feel good, I have a couple of tricks I can do to make it at least manageable.”
Qualifying has been good to Hostetler in the past at AMF Hall of Fame events, but results in match play have been mixed.
“The ball reaction here is always suspect. I always try to use weak stuff because it hooks so much here,” Hostetler said. “There have been a couple of times, and one doubles in particular, where I just couldn’t carry anything. The trick here is if they fall, they fall, and if they don’t, they don’t. It can be really tough to carry.”
Saturday was not one of those non-carry days.
CARSON’S DAY
Carson, who was part of the Higgy’s Aquarium team that captured the 2016 USBC Open Championship team all-events title, has been out of bowling since 2002 due to various health reasons.
“I’ve been focusing on my health. The last year, I’ve had two (right) knee surgeries,” said Carson, who suffers from osteoarthritis in both knees and ankles.
“But I just love the game. I missed the people, though I really didn’t miss the drama side of it. It’s been kind of nice to come back with a fresh slate. I think I appreciate the game more than wheneve I did quit.
“I was burned out, not having fun. I definitely worked on my mindset and I need to keep that. I really enjoy competing. My focus is practicing and I want to be s good as I was 10 years ago.”
The 41-year-old Wooster right-hander, a machinist at Prentke Romich Co., admitted other health issues prior to the knee problems also played a part in his decision to walk away in 2022.
“I honestly didn’t want to bowl again. I was getting frustrated … letting myself down, letting other people down and I just wasn’t dependable because of all the stuff going on,” Carson said. “But I got that itch again, so here I am.”
In his first tournament appearance, Carson was third after qualifying, averaging 249.75 using a Storm Hy Road Pearl.
“My stamina is good and my mental game seems to be pretty solid. My legs aren’t cooperating yet, but that will take time,” said Carson, who had his last surgery four months ago and is not bowling in league play. “It’s going to be an ongoing challenge, but we’re getting there. I just need to keep strengthening it in the gym.”
After shooting 268 In Game 1, Carson dropped to ninth in Game 2, but shot 516 over his last two games to earn the No. 3 seed.
“Trying to not hurt my knee has been my main focus,” Carson said. “I used to be really fast on the approach and I had to slow that down. I also went back to my old grip — no grips just straight off the press. I seem to be throwing it better this way than I did before. I just have to keep my feet slow.”
In his opening match, Carson had just one open frame and was able to stop Canton left-hander Michael Leggett 200-194 as the latter had one open and one split.
But Carson needed a big run in the semifinal match against 21-year-old Louisville two-handed righty Chase Barstow.
Barstow went on a strike run early, but Carson was able to throw four strikes in a row to turn the match around in the ninth and 10th frames.
Barstow, needing strikes in the 10th frame to shut out Carson, came in high on his first shot and left a spare. Then, needing a strike to tie, he left two pins on his final ball as Carson advanced with a 234-232 win.
“I was surprised. Him being younger, I had to put some pressure on him,” Carson said. “I honestly didn’t think I was ready to do that just coming back. I told myself, ‘just make a couple of really good shots.’ I knew he was a bit iffy on the right lane and it just worked out.”
Hostetler faced No. 8 seed and Akron senior player Ray Cook in the quarterfinals, but ran off three strikes from the ninth into the 10th frame to pull out a 214-202 win.
But in the semifinals against No. 5 seed Brian Ball, a Massillon right-hander who already has two series wins this season, Hostetler went on a seven-strike run early for a 267-248 win. Ball, who had one strike through the first five frames, threw the final seven strikes to put pressure on the top seed to stay clean.
TITLE MATCH
Hostetler continued to string strikes in the title match, starting with the first five before leaving a 10-pin spare in the sixth frame.
“I had to trick the ball against Ray and Brian with loft,” Hostetler said. “But it was different against Tony.”
Carson had problems with the right lane on the title pair of Lanes 13 and 14. After striking on his opening shot, he came up light and left an 8-10 split in the second frame before running off three strikes in a row and leaving another 8-pin spare in the sixth.
“I just got little fast with the release on both of those shots,” Carson said. “Every time I do that, I come over the top of the ball a little bit too much. That’s part of the layoff and getting my timing back.”
After spares in the eighth and ninth, Hostetler doubled in the 10th frame to put the match out of reach, despite leaving a 4-6-7-10 split on his final ball.
“It was a really fine line, but it was kind of what I was searching for with that ball,” Hostetler said. “You saw what happened when I got it to the dry too quickly on that last shot. I wanted to get the ball to the dry, but not too quickly.”
Carson plans on continuing his comeback trail at the John Klonowski Memorial scratch singles in two weeks at Eastbury Bowling Center in Canton.
“I’m extremely happy with this … I never expected to get this far,” Carson said. “Joe’s a good dood and we’ve bowled each other a lot over the years. I have nothing but respect for him.”
Hostetler is noncommittal as to what comes next in bowling.
“Right now, it’s one night of league and whatever tournaments are around,” Hostetler said. “It’s mostly one-day events close by and no traveling. We’re just blending everything to support (Restrepo) and my daughter.”
But part-time is working out for both as we head into tournament season.
NOTEBOOK: The event drew 42 players. … After four qualifying games, the field was cut to the top eight for match play, with the top 13 earning cash spots. …. Cook and Eric Long tied for the eighth sport and held a two-frame rolloff, with Cook advancing following a 40-38 win as Long left a 4-6-10 split on his first ball. They tied at 958, finishing three pins ahead of Scott Vandegrift. … The final cash spot was at 938, with Branden Ball, who converted to a two-handed delivery to start the new year, earning that spot. Ball quit throwing two-handed when he entered high school at GlenOak, but has converted back. He finished three pins ahead of Mike Spitale Jr. for that spot. … Hostetler and Ryan Trowbridge recorded the tourney’s high games of 290. … Eighteen players shot 700 or better over their first three games, with 30 players averaging 200 or better on the house oil pattern. … The next CBT Series event is an under-50, over-50 doubles event, set for 10 a.m. Feb. 8 at Park Centre Lanes in North Canton. Entry fee is $130 per team. … Thanks again to tournament director Jeff DiMarzio and Dawn Altimore-Eckenrode for their assistance with our report.
COLLEGE BOWL TOURNAMENTS SERIES SINGLES
(Saturday, at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes, Canton)
Quarterfinal round
(Single-game match play; losers each receive $120)
No. 1 Joe Hostetler d. No. 8 Ray Cook 214-202
No. 7 Chase Barstow d. No. 2 Ryan Trowbridge 246-237
No. 3 Tony Carson d. No. 6 Michael Leggett 200-194
No. 5 Brian Ball d. No. 4 Alex Lincoln 234-227
Semifinals
(Single-game match play; losers each receive $200)
Hostetler d. Brian Ball 267-248
Carson d. Barstow 234-232
Championship
(Single-game match play; winner receives $500, loser receives $300)
Hostetler d. Carson 244-236
Other cashers
(Based on four-game qualifying pinfalls; each receives $65)
9, Eric Long 958 (*—lost in two-frame rolloff with Cook 40-38); 10, Scott Vandegrift 955; 11, Alan Hoover 949; 12, Brett McCourry 941; 13, Branden Ball 938
