By BILL SNIER
CANTON — Heading into the four-team championship rolloff in the K&K Pool and Spa Service league, Alex McCourry admittedly had been struggling at Spins Bowl Akron.
“It had been going on for about three or four weeks,” said the 29-year-old Canton left-hander, who is employed by Ace Mitchell Bowlers Mart. “My stuff just wasn’t matching up real well.”
McCourry had made a switch to Motiv equipment from Brunswick about one-third of the way through the 2024-25 season. So, he made a decision before heading off to bowl for his league’s title.
“I just grabbed a bunch of random stuff to take with me because I was just lost,” said McCourry, who averaged 221 in the trio league where he bowled with fellow left-hander Jason Corrin and right-hander Paul Thorne.
“My previous two sets there were horrible … I think I had six-teens and a 500 (series). But we needed something if we wanted to win the league in our first year.”
The rolloff had teams rolling three games on three separate pairs of lanes. McCourry decided to start with his Motiv Max Thrill Solid.
“I got lined up pretty good in practice and it looked OK,” said McCourry, who also averaged 245 in the Liberty Vending league at Eastbury Bowling Center.
“After that, I found out I could move a little bit, slow the ball down and give it more time.”
He started the night with a double, 7-pin and a 6-pin in Game 1.
“It was really tight to start, but I was realizing I could move left rather than right, play tighter, control the pocket on my own, and the ball did the rest,” McCourry said. “I gave the ball a chance to walk by slowing it down.”
McCourry then threw the next six strikes to finish en route to 258. He followed that with 299 on his second pair and 257 on his third for an 814 series — his third 800 of the season and 22nd overall.
HIs only miss in Game 2 came when he admittedly “got a little quick” and left. 7-pin on his final shot.
“I actually got lucky on that,” said McCourry, who didn’t have a 300 this season but has 29 sanctioned in his career. “It should have been a 3-7.”
He started Game 3 with the first two strikes before leaving a solid 8-pin — “My usual leave these days,” McCourry said, laughing — in the third frame. He then struck to the 10th frame before leaving a 6-pin spare.
“I knew I had it locked up then,” McCourry said. “The last shot was just a formality.”
Admittedly it has been an up-and-down season at Spins Bowl Akron for McCourry.
“I had as many big games as I had bad ones,” McCourry said.
But he also averaged 245 at Eastbury — running off a streak of 16 straight series of 720 or higher at one point along with a pair of 800s.
But the season ended on a high note at Spins Bowl-Akron; his team came away with the league title to go with his individual accomplishment.
“I would take this year overall in a heartbeat,” McCourry said. “I’m just over the moon with the switch (to Motiv) that I made. There are a lot of cleaner shapes, a lot more predictable shapes and then I shoot 800 my last night.
“I can’t be any more pleased.”