By BILL SNIER
AKRON — A pair of Michigan two-handed left-handers have been there, done that at Station 300.
“We like us against anyone else in the building,” 34-year-old Holly lefty AJ Rice said of his pairing with 29-year-old Sterling Heights lefty Andre Gonzales.
“We vibe well, we feed off one another and it’s aways a good time no matter what happens.”
The pair teamed up again Friday during the Akron Open doubles sweeper, the 92-team prelim to this weekend’’s main event. Combining to shoot 505 in the last of their four-game set, the pair jumped from fourth to first to claim the victory.
“If one of us wasn’t striking, the other was there to pick him up,” said Rice, who shared the $2,400 top prize. “In the last game, he had the front six or seven (strikes). In Game 1, I had the first six or seven.
“We just helped each other whenever we needed it.”
Gonzales shot 267 in Game 4 while Rice added 238, including the final six strikes as the pair finished with 1,972 total pinfall — 43 pins ahead of second place AJ Bigelow and Keith Schooler, a lefty-righty combination. Bigelow had 248 in Game 4, but Schooler, who shot a sweeper-high 290 in Game 3, had just 202 as the pair finished with 1,929.
“We really didn’t check anything until the last game. We knew we were close,” Rice said. “We just said to each other, hey, just get what we can get and hopefully the pins fall in our favor … and they did.”
The surprise came in the third spot where a pair of Northeast Ohio senior right-handers — 56-year-old Ray Cook of Akron and 61-year-old Michael Burns of Wooster — finished with 1,909 after standing 32nd following Game 1.
And it was a pairing created at the last minute by tournament promotor Jody Boyd.
“Jody called me and said that Ray needs a partner and I said sign me up,” said Burns, who has known Cook since the pair faced off in a 2012 tourney final at Lex Lanes in Lancaster.
Cook’s original partner had canceled on him and Burns’ partner was not expected to be available.
“We’re the same style … down-and-in … and we can feed off each other,” said Burns, who will be bowling the Akron Open on Saturday while Cook is unable to participate due to a work conflict. “That’s what we did all night.”
Cook, who was one of just three players to shoot 1,000 over the four-game set with 1,007 to Burns’ 902, switched to a ball with surface in the middle of Game 1.
“I just stayed with it and it did well for me,” said Cook, who switched to his Radical Katana Assault while Burns used his Motiv Jackal Ghost. “We bowled with or against each other forever.
Another lefty-righty pairing of Scotty Kramer and Austin Robinson led after Games 1 and 2 by shooting 523 and 528, respectively. But the pair slumped to 382 in Game 4 to drop from second to sixth.
The lefty-righty combo of Indiana Tech sophomore Tuna Boncu and Batu Pinar led following Game 3. But while Boncu shot 247 in Game 4, Pinar struggled to 168 to drop the pair to fourth overall.
Meanwhile, Rice and Gonzales shot 983 and 989, respectively — neither going below 237 on the night.
“It played the same as usual,” said Rice, who has participated in Akron Open weekend for at least five years. “They were hooking a lot. You had to stand right, find your weakest ball (Rice used a Track Stealth Mode and then a Storm Ion Pro) and throw it left.
“To me, it was the same story on both sides. You have to match up here; if you don’t, you’re not going to score.”
Gonzales, who used his Columbia 300 Pulse all night, agreed.
“They were hooking out of the gate, but they do seem to hook more on Fridays than they due on Saturday,” Gonzales said. “That’s the mindset you have to have going into singles.”
Now, with the “fun event” completed, the real competition begins for 276 singles players Saturday.
NOTEBOOK: Schooler had the high game of the night with 290, while Jordan Bair, Charles Brown II and Robinson each had 289. … Boncu posted the high individual series of 1,026. Despite his 202 the final game, Bigelow was second high with 1,026, followed by Cook. … The event was bowled on the Station 300 house oil pattern, with four doubles teams per pair. The same shot will be used for the singles, but only six players per pair. … Kramer and Robinson had the high team game of 528 in Game 2 after their 523 in Game 1, Bigelow and Schooler had 525 in Game 3. … The top 18 teams cashed in the 92-team field, with Brian Walker and Josh Wilson gaining the final cash spot with 1,798 despite shooting just 353 in Game 4. They finished 12 pins ahead of Reginal Petty and Dell Ray Jr. … The Akron Open singles main event Saturday has six-game qualifying shifts at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., with the top one-fifth of the field advancing to Sunday’s Cashers’ Round. There was a full field of 138 in the opening session. … Our thanks to tournament director Dawn Altimore-Eckenrode, Kim Hogue and Makenna Boyd for their assistance with this report.
AKRON OPEN DOUBLES SWEEPER
(Friday, at Station 300, Akron)
Final standings (with total four-game pinfall, earnings): 1, AJ Rice-Andre Gonzales 1,972, $2,400; 2, AJ Bigelow-Keith Schooler 1,929, $1,300; 3, Michael Burns-Ray Cook 1,909, $1,400; 4, Tuna Boncu-Batu Pinar 1,905, $1,200; 5, George Gohagan III-Jean Perez 1,897, $1,000; 6, Scotty Kramer-Austin Robinson 1,868, $1,000; 7, Tony Preston-Bruce Frantz 1,867, $800; 8, (tie) Chad Roberts-Dan Higgins and Kyle King-Charles Brown II 1,859, $800; 10, Ty McKinney-Ryan Ashby 1,851, $600; 11, Michael Mossbarger-Jeffrey Scott 1,848, $600; 12, Bryce Oliver-Nolan White 1,843, $600; 13, Jonathan Caugherty-Zach Howman 1,840, $500; 14, Nick Green-Jay McCorkle 1,837, $500; 15, John Randolph-Patrick Adolph 1,835, $500; 16, Cassidy Schaub-Charles Easton 1,813, $400; 17, Earl Anthony-Ravone Bentley 1,800, $400; 18, Brian Walker-Josh Wilson 1,798, $400.
