By BILL SNIER
LORAIN — John Verbich III summed up his second PBA regional title in very simple terms.
“Everyone throws good shots here,” said the 53-year-old Griffith, Ind., left-hander. “Its’s just who gets the great breaks at the right time.
“I don’t think me or Jon (Rakoski) missed the pocket in the finals. I just got one more carry than he did.”
Verbich, a police officer in his Northwest Indiana hometown, is spending his vacation time chasing the PBA50 Tour through Akron and then on to Virginia for the next stop. In between, he decided to make his first appearance at Rebman Recreation for the PBA50 Ohio Lottery Baldo Campana-Dave D’Entremont-Joe Delmonico Memorial Central Open on Wednesday.
It was a wise decision.
Verbich, who had to shoot 268 his final game of qualifying just to make the cut, defeated Rakoski 248-238 to claim his second PBA regional title and first in the Central Region. His other title came in October at Whitestown, Wis., in the Midwest Region.
“When I first came out here, I just wanted to know if I belonged,” said Verbich, who has bowled nine regular PBA50 Tour events this season, cashing in three.
“I wanted to know if I was good enough and I could hang with these guys. Winning a second title is nice, and it shows that I can. Getting a win like this especially with a lot of national stop players here, is nice.”
It comes after Verbich, like all left-handers in the field, struggled at AMF Riviera Lanes during the PBA50 Akron Classic earlier this week. That was won by PBA Hall of Famer Tom Hess, with just one left-hander — Troy Lint — making the cut and getting a cash spot.
“Here, I was able to get the ball to the pocket easier. That was tough on the 48-foot pattern (in Akron),” said Verbich, who finished 56th overall in that field. “I wasn’t able to get to the pocket much there. And when I did, I wasn’t getting the hits. It was rough.”
Rebman Recreation was a different story on the 43-foot PBA Regional pattern — except for the approaches, especially on the high side of the two-sided center.
“The approaches were rough. You got to pairs where you could slide and others where you couldn’t and would come to a dead stop,” Verbich said. “It was rough, but everyone battled it, unless you were just able to plant. I just planted, moved up on the approaches and slowed my feet down.”
WORKING HIS WAY UP
Verbich sat 19th heading into the final qualifying game and nine pins out of the cut. HIs 268 moved him up to the No. 6 seed for best-of-three Round of 16 match play.
“I looked at the numbers and I knew I was close,” Verbich said. “I had good approaches on that pair and everything just carried. Then I just continued my way up.”
Verbich battled a pair of super senior area players — 2024 tourney winner John Kertis of Streetsboro and Strasburg’s Steve Easterday — in his opening matches, earning 2-0 sweeps in both. The latter came after winning a one-ball rolloff 10-7 due to a tie in Game 1.
In the semifinals, he faced another super senior in No. 2 seed Dave Taylor, a Seminole, Fla., right-hander. Taylor through a strike in the first, but didn’t have another until the sixth frame and finished with six overall — three of those coming in the 10th frame.
Verbich meanwhile started with the front three, left a 4-pin spare and then ran off four more in a row en route to a 257-196 win.
RAKOSKI’S DAY
Rakoski, a 54-year-old Estero, Fla., right-hander, was the No. 12 seed entering match play after averaging 219 on the day. But he did not have a smooth ride.
In his opening match against Randy Weiss, the three time PBA50 Tour champion and seven-time regional winner left an unusual 2-4-5-7-10 split with the opportunity to close his opponent out in the 10th frame of Game 3.
Weiss had the opportunity to steal the win, but left an 8-pin on his first shot in the 10th as Rakoski advanced with a 227-223 win.
“I left that crazy bucket with the 10-pin when all I needed was a mark,” said Rakoski, who has cashed in nine of 11 events on the PBA50 Tour this season. “I don’t know what happened. Fortunately, I got through it.”
Rakoski also had to win a one-ball rolloff in his second match to get by left-hander Jason Lundqust after the two tied at 248 in Game 3.
Then came a meeting against No. 1 seed and the defending champion, PBA Hall of Famer Chris Barnes. Barnes, who shot the only 300 of the event and led the field with 1,883 total pinfall (235.37 average), was coming off a 2-1 win over Tom Daugherty in the quarterfinals in a battle of two of the hottest players on the PBA50 Tour.
But Barnes had no answer for Lane 8 in the semifinals, failing to strike until a light carry shot in the ninth frame for his only double as Rakoski earned a 234-217 win despite failing to convert a 6-10 spare in the fourth. Rakoski ran off six strikes in a row after that to advance.
TITLE MATCH
In the title match, Verbich was able to strike on four of his first five shots, leaving a solid 9-pin in the second frame. Rakoski, meanwhile, had just two-strikes in the first five leaving two 7-pin and one 9-pin spare.
But after Verbich left back-to-back 7-pin spares in the sixth and seventh, Rakoski got on a roll — except for leaving a solid 8-pin spare in the seventh frame. It was his only miss over his last eight shots.
“That 8-pin kind of sums up my whole day today,” said Rakoski, who was making his second Rebman appearance after finishing eighth a year ago. “I kept making good shots and not getting rewarded for them. I was in the pocket all day and just not carrying. But it happens
“I was fortunate that Barnes couldn’t get Lane 8. It was just pair to pair. But overall, it was a good tournament.
“The other side (high side) was a little tricky so I was glad the finals were on this side.”
After Rakoski’s run, Verbich stepped up in the 10th knowing he needed a double to earn the win.
“I knew I had to take it out. The nerves were there, but I just made sure I calmed myself down,” Verbich said, after he watched the action away from the pair.
The opening shot was a solid strike, but the second one came in a bit light with the 10-pin carrying late.
“That second shot was a little iffy,” said Verbich who used an Ebonite GB5 Hybrid most of the day along with a Track Stealth Mode Hybrid. “But it was all about the breaks.”
He then finished his five-strike run for the victory.
Now Verbich heads to Virginia to continue his vacation on the PBA50 Tour with a first-place check and added confidence.
“It’s just good to get a win,” Verbich said. “It’s good to continue to bowl against these guys and be able to compete.”
NOTEBOOK: The one-day event had a 68-player original field, but Keith Muskiewicz pulled out due to injury and William Fabian bowled just three games before withdrawing due to a knee problem. … Andrew Rettig earned the final match-play spot with 1,745 total pinfall after eight games, just 11 pins ahead of John Burkett and 16 ahead of Fairport Harbor’s Jerry Rich. Burkett shot just 171 his final game while Rich was plagued by 159 and 181 his first two games. … Former Canton resident Tony Johnson finished sixth overall, Easterday took eighth and Kertis was 14th. … Verbich was the first lefty to win the 17th edition of this regional since Michael Haggitt in 2023.. Haggitt finished 37th Wednesday. … Nine of the players in the field earned spots through a Rebman qualifier, with Norman Smith being the highest nonmember finisher in 47th place. … Wadsworth super duper senior Dale Csuhta contiinued his cash run by sharing the final super senior cash spot with Chuck Lupica in a tie for 28th overall. … Other area cashers included Akron’s Don Hogue (22nd, 1,701) and Tallmadge’s John Randolph (21st, 1,701), who was making just his second regional appearance. … Verbich returned this season after missing about 20 months due to knee surgery. … The center had a bowling ball sale during the event, with used balls donated by the PBA50 pros. All proceeds benefitted Peyton’s Toys for Tots campaign. … Rebman pro host Rick Zakrajsek said both the PBA and PBA50 regionals will return next season, but that the latter would not be held in July, depending on how schedules fall. He also was presesnted the 2025 Central Region’s Pat Patterson award for outstanding contributions to the regional program and efforts to promote bowling. … The next Central Region PBA50 regional is set for Aug. 21-23 in Charleston, W.Va. … The regular PBA Central Region pros will gather Saturday in Grove City at AMF Stardust Lanes.
See complete PBA50 regional scores here: https://www.leaguepals.com/league-info?id=69bbfd6f76648619644689ee