PARMA HEIGHTS—Jacksonville State was able to edge out a 20-pin win in the traditional portion of its national semifinal Mega Match against Vanderbilt, then put together a dominant performance in the Baker System total pinfall portion to earn its third-consecutive trip to the NCAA National Collegiate Bowling Championship match Friday at Yorktown Lanes.
The top-seeded Gamecocks trailed by five after eight frames after holding a 52-pin lead after four frames. Thruway High School graduate Emma Yoder, Erin Klemencic, and Gianna Brandolino all doubled in the ninth to give Jax State a 936-930 lead heading to the 10th frame. Wooster graduate Abbie Leiendecker also is a member of the team.
Annalise OBryant struck three times in the 10th, and the Gamecocks got two strikes in the 10th from Brandolino to clinch the point. Klemencic had the high game at 236 followed by matching 226s from OBryant and Brandolino in a 1,139-1,119 win.
Jax State racked up 266 pins in the first of the five Baker games after posting seven straight strikes after picking up back-to-back single pins in the second and third to post a 63-pin lead after the first. The Gamecocks left the third open in the second game, but came back with nine strikes in a row for a 266-225 win and to push the lead to 104 pins.
The Gamecocks answered an open fourth with a triple to lead 158-125 after seven frames. Brandolino struck thrice in the 10th for a 227-183 win to push the overall lead to 746-598.
In the fourth, Jax State racked up another 258 pins thanks to nine strikes, adding another 46 pins to the advantage to lead 1,004-810. The Gamecocks closed the match with a 184-171 win for a grand total of 1,188-981.
The championship match will be a Baker best-of-seven format and will air live at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU. Jax State will face the winner of Saturday’s morning match between Vanderbilt and Wichita State.