WOOSTER — Lewis Center right-hander Dan Higgins claimed his first PBA regional title Saturday, stopping Chuck Lupica 201-178 to win the PBA50 Dilly’s Pro Shop-Ballerz Sports Club Central Open at Ballerz Sports Club.
Higgins, the No. 2 seed entering match play after averaging 223.5 through seven qualifying games, defeated Jeffrey Ripic 226-221 in the semifinals to advance to the title match.
The 40-player field bowled on the PBA Regional 46 oil pattern during the one-day event, with players rolling seven qualifying games before the field was cut to the top 12 for best-of-three match play, with the top four seeds receiving a first-round bye. The second round again was best-of-three, before the final two rounds were single-game elimination.
Lupica, the No. 4 seed, stopped top-seeded Larry Verble 195-152 in the semifinals.
Verble led the field with 1,592 total pinfall (227.4 average).
Hudson High School coach John Brockway, also a member of the Northeast Ohio Travel League, earned the final qualifying spot with 1,397, finishing six pins ahead of Akron’s Don Hogue (1,391). Brockway outscored Hogue 215-177 in the final qualifying game.
Hogue earned the final cash spot, while Rick Zakrajsek (15th) and Steve Kenyon (17th) received Super Senior checks.
Among other area players reaching match play were Michael Clark Jr., Ed Carter and Dale Csuhta. Higgins earned $1,700 with the win.
Regional pros will return to action April 17 through 19 for the PBA/PBA50 Doubles Clutch Lanes Central Open at Clutch Lanes and Sports Center in Cuyahoga Falls.
Among PBA Tour pros scheduled to participate are Chris Barnes, Dino Castillo, Tom Daugherty, Patrick Dombrowski, Graham Fach, Tom Hess, Eric Jones, Shawn Maldonado, Sean Rash and Tom Smallwood. Admission is free.
See complete PBA Ballerz results here: https://www.leaguepals.com/league-info?id=696
PBA JUNIOR IN CANTON
CANTON — A PBA Jr. Sstrikeforce Midwest-Central Regional Qualifier is begin held this weekend at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes with 19 boys and eight girls in the field.
Female bowlers rolled 14 qualifying games Saturday on two different patterns (O’Neill 36-foot and McEwan 41-foot) and will add five more games today before the fields are cut to the top six for match play.
After the opening two rounds, Autumn Strode is leading the women’s division with 2,669 total pinfall (190.4 average) and is just 39 pins ahead of Charlotte Eller. In the boys division, Lakeville, Ind., high schooler Ryan Carmichael holds the lead with 2,957 (211.2), and is 148 pins ahead of Abram Monosmith.
See Saturday’s results here: https://www.pba.com/tournaments/2026/pba-jr-kr-strikeforce-midwest-central-regional-qualifier-canton-oh