By BILL SNIER
MACEDONIA — Kirstie Tedick had not planned to bowl the third annual Hit Dem Pockets Queens event.
“I really wasn’t going to bowl,” the 34-year-old Brook Park right-hander said. “But then I told myself, you know, you need to be out there.”
It proved to be the right decision.
Sixth-seeded following a grueling eight-game qualifying round, Tedick ran the ladder during the championship round, topping Lewis Center’s Jen Higgins 247-216 in the title match during her first appearance in the three-year-old event.
“My friends and I won the (Ohio State USBC Women’s) state handicap team title (in Canton),” Tedick said. “It means more to win with them. But I can’t lie; this feels really good. I’m proud of myself.”
How tough did the 2024 PWBA Cleveland Regional oil pattern play at North Woods Lanes on Saturday?
Only qualifying leader Rachael Delserone, who had two of the six games higher than 230, averaged 200 for the day. And she averaged just 201.3 — just 11 pins over the break-even point.
“There was an out of bounds and you had to be super accurate,” said Tedick, whose winning score tied Kelsey Cummings’ high qualifying game of 247. “If you missed right, it stayed out there. You had to be right on the money.”
Players rolled eight qualifying games before the field was cut to the top eight for a single-game elimination match-play round by seed. The four winners then were seeded for the stepladder finals based on just that one game.
MATCH PLAY
Colombia native Natalia Miranda and 2023 HDP Queens winner Trisha Reid tied for the final cut spot at 1,544, with Reid shooting 181 in Game 8 to Miranda’s 193.
That necessitated a ninth and 10th frame rolloff to determine the No. 8 seed, with Miranda covering a 10-pin spare and adding a double en route to a 50-28 win. Reid left a 2-7 split on her opening ball and struck just once.
Miranda, a right-hander now living in Baltimore who was only in the area for some coaching prior to the Colombian national tournament, then stopped Delserone 213-189 to advance.
Delserone, who shot 232 and 233 en route to the No. 1 seed, had just one strike in the match.
Tedick, who left a 4-7-10 split to start the 10th frame of her match against Olivia Clark, got a break where her opponent left a 7-10 split in the 10th. Tedick gained the 177-166 win to earn the No. 4 seed for the stepladder.
Higgins was unstoppable in the round, missing only once en route to a 279-244 win over Amanda Morrow, who also ran off the last seven strikes. The game — highest of the day by over 30 pins — gave Higgins the No. 1 seed for the finals.
Denisyha Waller, a 28-year-old Detroit right-hander and former college standout at Texas Southern and Arkansas State, topped Lexi Cloud 217-201 to also advance
STEPLADDER RUN
The two early stepladder matches turned into a race to 200.
In the opening match, Tedick left a washout in the first frame and 2-7 and 7-10 splits in the fifth and sixth, respectively. But she also ran off four strikes into the 10th frame to stop No. 3 seed Miranda 200-168.
Miranda also had a first-frame washout and a 6-7-10 split in the sixth, but struck just three times in the match.
Tedick also had a pair of open frames in the semifinal, failing to covert a 2-4-8 in the first and a 10-pin in the seventh, But a double in the fourth and fifth proved to be key.
Waller failed to convert a 2-4-5 spare in the third and then left a 4-6-7-9 split in the seventh. She then left three 10-pin spares the rest of the way while Tedick stayed clean for a 183-168 win to reach the title match.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Higgins, who cashed in all four of her Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour events this season, said she had a “200 kind of look all day.”
Finishing as the No. 2 qualifier, the 43-year-old right-hander averaged 198.3 with a high game of 235 until her big run in match play.
But the carry wasn’t there in the title match for Higgins, who also finished second a year ago to champion Melissa Voytko after leaving five 10-pin spares in the title match.
Tedick started with four of the first five strikes. What changed from the previous games?
“Honestly, knowing how good Jen is, I just kind of relaxed and was like, let her take the wheel and whatever happens, happens at that point,” said Tedick, a graphic designer who used a Roto Grip Attention Star most of the day.
“When you’re in good company, you just follow suit. I just relaxed a little more as ironic as that sounds.”
She also stayed clean during the title match. After a 7-pin spare in the sixth, Tedick had four more strikes in a row into the 10th frame before converting a 2-8 spare.
“I just kept the same ball in my hand and stayed where I was. The second arrow is always my best friend and I tried to stay there,” said Tedick, who earned $1,200 with the win.
Higgins, a former Canton resident and GlenOak High School graduate, was only able to strike twice on the left lane and had just two doubles. In the 10th frame, she struck on her first shot. But another 10-pin on the second shot ended her hopes.
“A couple of times, I missed right too far down the lane and it didn’t recover,” said Higgins, who shot 202 on the title pair (Lanes 5-6) in qualifying. “But then a couple of times, like in the 10th, I threw it sweet like I wanted to, but it just didn’t carry.
“In qualifying, I was able to match up really well (using a Hammer Maximum Effect). If it missed right, I was able to recover.”
Tedick said having her husband watching helped during the critical matches.
“I moved a little left the final game and kind of settled in,” Tedick said. “My husband calmed me down. It’s always nice to have someone to go to like that.”
NOTEBOOK: Tedick had made a run during the Cleveland USBC Jacqueline Kirk-Terrell Queens in April, falling to Megan Ashley 267-223 in the title match at AMF Brookgate. … The event drew 31 total players and paid eight places. … It took an average of 193 for eight games to make the cut for match play. … Cummings was the only bowler to shoot 240 or higher in qualifying. … Higgins plans to return to PWBA play in 2026. “I cashed in all the events I bowled in so why not?” she said. … Wooster’s Karlie Way was the top Stark County area finisher, finishing 12th with 1,489. … Players had no practice on the title pair before beginning the stepladder. Players coming on after the opening match got one ball on each lane. … Our thanks to the HDP staff for their assistance with this report.
HIT DEM POCKETS QUEENS
(Saturday, at North Woods Lanes, Macedonia)
Match-play round
(One-game elimination; losers each receive $200)
8 Natalia Miranda d. 1 Rachael Delserone 213-189
2 Jen Higgins d. 7 Amanda Morrow 279-244
6 Kirstie Tedick d. 3 Olivia Clark 177-166
4 Densyha Waller d. 5 Lexi Cloud 217-201
Stepladder finals
Match 1: Tedick d. Miranda 200-168; Miranda wins $250
Match 2: Tedick d. Waller 183-168; Waller wins $300
Championship: Tedick d. Higgins 247-216; Tedick wins $1,200, Higgins wins $600
