By BILL SNIER
CANTON — Skill plays a major role when bowlers are facing a difficult oil pattern.
But luck — both good and bad — also has its place on the lanes.
Ryan Liederbach saw both sides of that equation Sunday at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes.
John Boyd III saw only the good during the last two frames of the title match in the 24th annual Furbay Electric Supply Open.
Liederbach, the No. 3 seed who averaged 262.2 over his first two matches, struggled in the title match against No. 1 seed John Boyd III as the latter earned his first Furbay title with a 208-161 win.
Boyd, who stayed clean the entire match, had a late double in the ninth and 10th frames — both on crossover strikes — to seal the win.
“I figured the lanes would be a bit tighter with all the urethane going down the lanes in the area I was going to be playing at,” said Boyd, a 33-year-old Cleveland right-hander who entered the match-play rounds as the No. 15 seed.
“I knew I had to have a game plan of some sort. I changed balls, which was kind of a last-minute thing, but I had to figure something out. As it turned out, I didn’t figure it out fast enough. But I knew spares were going to win the game so I just had to lock in on that.”
Using his Storm Physix Blackout, Boyd shot 289 in Game 2 during his Round of 10 match against David Keagy en route to a 489-429 win.
“I knew I needed to maintain because I could see from the prior two matches that (Liederbach) was on fire,” said Boyd, whose best previous finish was fifth in the 2023 Furbay. “The nerves weren’t too bad. I just felt like I needed to make shots. I struggled a bit, but still came up with the win.”
LIEDERBACH’S DAY
Liederbach, the 2025 John Klonowski Memorial champion who won the Portage County Masters earlier this season, was in his first Furbay stepladder since 2000. He had made the top 20 for match play the past two years, but fell in the first round both times.
Using his Hammer Purple 78D all day, Liederbach stayed in the top 20 until shooting just 169 his final game to drop into a tie for 20th with Martez Walker — Boyd’s cousin.
“The high side seemed to be a whole lot tighter, and it allowed me to keep my angles more in front and not have to move farther left. But I had to keep my speed up and make sure I kept it left,” said Liederbach, a 29-year-old two-handed lefty and former PBA Central Region Player of the Year.
“When I came back to the other side, they were torched and I really didn’t have any idea what to do.”
That resulted in the final game that forced a one-ball rolloff with Walker, which Liederbach won 10-9 to advance to match play. He then got over his first-round problems by stopping No. 1 seed and two-time defending champion Dean Vargo 434-410 before shooting 278 in Game 2 of his second match against Eric Bator en route to a 467-455 win to reach the stepladder finals.
“I had confidence coming in because of my last game in match play. I had a really good look and I kept that look coming onto the stepladder pair and just kept at it,” Liederbach said of Lanes 19-20.
STEPLADDER MATCHES
The stepladder opened with two-time Furbay champion Joe Hostetler, the No. 4 seed overall entering match play, taking on 26-year-old former Wright State University player and Medina resident Andrew Bleakley, who was making his first Furbay appearance, in a battle of right-handers.
A missed 4-7 spare in the third frame was the only blemish between the two as Hostetler, a 37-year-old Kent right-hander, earned a 206-196 win. Bleakley had a chance in the 10th frame to advance, but left a 10-pin spare on his first ball after a double in the eighth and ninth.
Then Liederbach began his run in Game 2 as the No. 3 seed for the stepladder.
The Ace Mitchell Bowlers Mart employee ran off nine straight strikes before leaving a 4-6-10 split in the 10th en route to a 265-191 win against Hostetler, who finished with just four strikes overall and left a pocket 7-10 split in the second frame.
The semifinal match was much closer against 43-year-old Massillon right-hander and Ten Back Pro Shop owner-operator Frank Testa, the No. 19 overall seed entering match play who was seeking his record fourth Furbay title.
Leiderbach left 6- and 8-pin spares in two of the first four frames, both on the right lane, before he got hot again, running off the final eight strikes for a 260-226 win.
Testa was on a three-strike run entering the 10th frame, but then left a solid 7-pin spare on his first ball in the 10th to end his hopes. He missed just four times in the match with no open frames.
TITLE MATCH
But, as Liederbach said later, “my luck ran out … it finally caught up to me in the end,” during the title match.
It started when he opened with a 4-6-7-9-10 “Greek church split” in the opening frame. Then, after a double, he threw a gutter ball on the right lane. He did convert the spare.
“The idea was to try to make sure that the ball didn’t go right … it just had to go left,” said Liederbach. “What do they say, when you play with lightning … and I got struck on that one.
“It happened earlier today, but I managed to bounce back from it. I thought I still had a chance.”
Meanwhile, Boyd, who had switched to a Storm Ion Max Solid, continued to stay clean, including covering a 1-2-10 washout spare in the fifth. Then, in a hint of things to come, he rolled a Brooklyn strike in the sixth frame.
“I just had to get my hand position in the right place and play the ditch,” said Boyd, who won $1,400 for the title. “When I threw the Brooklyns, it really surprised me. But I got lucky today.”
After a strike in the fourth frame, Liederbach came back to the right lane and left a 4-6-7-10 split to kill any momentum.
“My game is getting better. It’s two weekends in a row with second-place finishes (Harris Open last week in Ashland). It’s not what I want, but you can’t win them all,” said Liederbach, who also gave credit to his therapist for helping through the rough times the past couple of months.
“That really helped me out today … just taking that little extra time … that extra breath between shots. But it’s not bad from having to bowl a one-ball rolloff just to get into match play.”
Liederbach, who will be bowling in the PBA Tournament of Champions pre-tournament qualifier Tuesday at AMF Riviera Lanes, had just one strike over his last five frames. Meanwhile, Boyd remained clean, including that key “Brooklyn” double, to wrap up the win.
“I felt like I threw both of those balls well,” Boyd said of the Brooklyn strikes. “I raised up a little on the first one in the 10th and it took off, so I was just very lucky.”
It was a day when luck — both good and bad — proved to be key on a very difficult oil pattern.
NOTEBOOK: The event drew 116 players, with just 11 averaging 200 or better during the five-game qualifier on the Furbay pattern. … The cut to match play was at 982 (196.4 average). The final cash spot, in 29th place, was at 964 (192.8), with Vinny Bellar and Jeff Sustarsic tying for that spot by just three pins over Walsh University player Rachel Young. … The only other past champion to reach the match-play round with Testa, Vargo and Hostetler was Adam Barta, who also was runner-up to Vargo a year ago. … Vargo led qualifying with 1,180 (236.0 average and earned a $150 bonus from Track. He finished 34 pins ahead of former Perry High School coach Alex Lincoln (1,146). … Only two left-handers — Liederbach and Kevin Cowper — reached the final 10. … Keagy shot 263 his final qualifying game to get to the No. 16 spot and Cowper had 258 to jump to No. 3 … Louisville’s Kara Kutz was the high female finisher, finishing 23rd overall and missing the cut by three pins. … High game during qualifying was by Hostetler with 278, while Boyd had the high overall game with his 289 in match play. … No. 5 seed Tony Carson withdrew from match play due to injury, with Keagy receiving a bye. … The combined totals of the first two rounds of match play determined seeding for the stepladder finals. The round of 20 match-play scores determined Round of 10 seedings and matchups. … Tournament sponsors included Track, Ten Back Pro Shop, WagRich Excavating and Concrete, Diehl of Massillon, AMF Hall of Fame, Fishermans Central, Heighway Awards & Apparel, Shreck Apex Roofing, M&L Heating and Cooling and Zeigler Tire. … Our thanks to tournament director Joe Altimore III and Dawn Altimore-Eckenrode for their assistance with our report.
FURBAY ELECTRIC SUPPLY OPEN
(Sunday, at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes, Canton)
Round of 20
(Two-game match-play, with seeds in parenthesis; losers each receive $210)
(20) Ryan Liederbach d. (1) Dean Vargo 434-410; (10) Adam Barta d. (11) Tyler Meredith 408-330; (16) David Keagy d. (5) Tony Carson 392-WD; (15) John Boyd III d. (6) Alex McCourry 461-367; (3) Kevin Cowper d. (18) Andrew Ritz 407-315; (14) Bryan Bailey d. (7) Zach Kopp 344-337; (19) Frank Testa d. (2) Alex Lincoln 453-371; (12) Andrew Bleakley d. (8) Blaine Salsberry 484-414; (4) Joe Hostetler d. (17) Chase Barstow 435-369; (9) Eric Bator d. (13) T.J. Charles 40-373
Round of 10
(Two-game match play; losers each receive $300)
Bleakley d. Bailey 408-315; Boyd d. Keagy 489-429; Testa d. Cowper 4878-436; Hostetler d. Barta 439-402; Liederbach d. Bator 467-455
Stepladder finals
Match 1: Hostetler d. Bleakley 206-196; Bleakley wins $400
Match 2: Liederbach d. Hostetler 265-191; Hostetler wins $500
Match 3: Liederbach d. Testa 260-226; Testa wins $700
Championship: Boyd d. Liederbach 208-161; Boyd wins $1,400, Liederbach wins $900
Other cashers
(Based on five-game qualifying pinfall)
21, Martez Walker 982, $190 earnings; 22, (tie) Caleb Shovestull and Kara Kutz 979, $175; 24, (tie) Chris Logan and Gary McGranahan 971, $155; 26, JC Smith 970, $140; 27, Tony Confalone 966, $130; 28 (tie), Jeff Sustarsic and Vinny Bellar 964, $115
