By BILL SNIER
LORAIN — Chris Barnes had never been inside Rebman Recreation during his illustrious bowling career.
But the Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer and winner of 19 regular and eight PBA50 tour titles does know something about the 40-year-old lane surfaces on the low side of the two-sided 48-lane center.
“I grew up bowling on this surface … the back end of it anyway,” the 55-year-old Denton, Texas, right-hander said. “There’s just something about it. My ball seems to like it when I bowl on it.”
That didn’t change Tuesday during the qualifying round of the PBA50 Ohio Lottery Baldo Campana & Dave D’Entremont Memorial Central Open.
After dropping to sixth during Game 5 of the eight-game round, Barnes finished with 769 over his final three games to secure the No. 1 seed heading into Wednesday’s match-play round of the event.
“I threw my (Storm) Phaze AI most of the day and didn’t use much rotation,” said Barnes, who finished with 1,929 total pinfall (a 241 average). “I just kind of tried to match up my speed to it and played more hold than hook.
“The good news is, when I got to the pocket, I struck a lot today. I just wasn’t giving the pocket away at any point. If you can strike on half-pocket hits than the pocket gets real big. I was able to do that today, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
But Barnes did have to adjust his strategy.
“There were some wild differences between the pairs early because I was playing little more hook the first half,’ Barnes said. “It was just crazy how much different they were and a little of that was on me because I was not playing them the way the pattern was asking for.”
North Olmsted’s Michael Clark Jr., who finished second to Brad Angelo during Sunday’s PBA50 regional in Bowling Green, shot 287 his final game to vault up the standings to second and into the top four with 1,860. He is followed by 14-time PBA winner Michael Haugen Jr. (1,835) and Jon Rakoski (1,813).
The top four receive a bye during Wednesday’s first round of match play. Was it important?
“Absolutely … you get to bowl maybe three less games, get to watch how the lanes play and where everyone else is playing,” said Clark, a 53-year-old right-hander. “It’s also guaranteed better money. It’s always a goal when you get to bracket match play.”
Clark fell out of the cut only once after Game 5, when he shot 194. But he finished with 775 over his final three to move up the ladder for the bye.
“I had no expectations. I just try to go out there and bowl and, if I bowland get matched up, I bowl good,” said Clark, who teamed with Dean Billings to win the 2024 PBA50-60 Doubles at Park Centre Lanes in North Canton. “If I don’t bowl well, I learn from it and try to understand what I did do well and what I didn’t do well.”
After going through two balls early, he went to a 900 Global Eternity.
“It was sitting on the rack at home and I decided to bring it at the last minute because I thought they would hook a bit and it worked,” Clark said. “I kept migrating a little further left all day to try to find some hold. I just tried to get it to the right spot down the lanes.”
Also making the cut for match play was Hudson right-hander John Brockway, a 50-year-old right-hander who made his first PBA50 cut in three attempts. He will be joined by Ashtabula super senior Dave Johnson and Vermillion right-hander John Shreve Jr.
“At the end they just started hooking more and I couldn’t get far enough left on the right lane,” said Brockway, who got to as high as second after Game 5 and was never out of the top 10. “I tried a couple of ball changes, but that didn’t work.
“They weren’t blending the pattern well enough. So I went to an (Storm) Ion Pro solid the last game and was able to pull out a four bagger to make sure.”
After a 168 in Game 7, Brockway rebounded with 215 the last game to finish with 1,761.
“I threw it great for the first five games,” said Brockway, a fifth-grade teacher in Hudson and the high school’s bowling coach. “I just don’t practice enough or experience the transition enough recently. That experience makes a huge difference.”
The remainder of the top 12 — places five through 12 — will open match play at 10 a.m. Wednesday with best-of-three matchups before those winners mix in with the top four qualifiers for the second round.
All match-play rounds will be best-of-three games matchups.
For Barnes, after success at the PBA50 World Series of Bowling in Michigan, he will take a few days off before heading to West Virginia for the PBA50 Tournament of Champions.
“I’ve been going strong on both tours since January. Honestly, I’m ready for a break,” said Barnes, who will be leaving Thursday to meet up with some friends who live south of Akron. “I hope I have one more big run left.”
FIRST-ROUND MATCHUPS: Here are the first-round matchups Wednesday: Larry Verble vs. Darryl Bower; Chuck Lupica vs. John Shreve Jr.; Craig Auerbach vs. Dave Johnson; Brad Angelo vs. John Brockway.
NOTEBOOK: There were 47 players in the original field. Super seniors Matt Ballard and Mike Moore withdrew after six games due to injury. … High game of the day was 287 by Verble and Clark. … Super seniors Peter Knopf and Darryl Bower tied for the final qualifying spot at 1,738, forcing a one-game rolloff. Bower had a pair of doubles in that game for a 216-197 win to advance to match play. … Super seniors Steve Easterday of Strasburg (14th, 1,719) and Wadsworth’s Dale Csuhta (tied for 15th, 1,718) were among the cashers along with Painesville’s Charles (Butch) Ferrell, who tied Csuhta in 15th place. Defending champion John Kertis, a Streetsboro right-hander, earned a super senior check by finishing 19th (1,698) while the other super senior check went to Wooster’s Michael Burns (21st, 1,651). … Easterday fell 19 pins short of tying for the final cut spot. … Shreve shot 243 his final game to move into the 11th spot for match play. … No left-handers made the cut on the Petraglia 46-foot oil pattern. … Monday’s pro-am event also drew 70 players. … Admission to match play is free for fans.
For complete results go to:
https://www.leaguepals.com/league-info?id=6809432ca0f8de1a4bb813d1