By BILL SNIER
CANTON — The winning pair found out about the event via Facebook. The runners-up came together after their respective partners backed out.
It set the tone for the first Scratch Doubles tournament at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes on Sunday.
The initial event, the brainchild of former GlenOak High School and Walsh University player Nate Davis, now facility manager at Hall of Fame, drew 23 teams — taking up the entire low side of the center.
The scratch event had teams bowl four games —never moving pairs after Game 1 — on an enhanced 45-foot house oil pattern before determining the winners. Six of the 23 teams earned cash spots.
“Everyone was super patient with all of the difficulties we had since it was our first doubles tourney. It was also our first time running brackets and eliminator,” Davis said in a Facebook post. “We learned a lot and the next tourney will be much smoother than this one.”
With 23 teams in the field, one team was able to bowl on a pair of lanes by itself. That happened to be Michael Williams II and Michael Mossbarger, who teamed to top the field with 1,945 total pinfall — 103 pins ahead of their nearest competitors.
Others in the top six included Dell Ray Jr. and Casey Cohagan (1,842); Cooper Smith and Chance Mattern (1,779); Randy Fath and Lew Stansbury (1,764); Ethan Gary and Bailey McGinnis (1,761); and Alan Leasure and Ryan Liolios (1,748).
“We normally bowl a lot of doubles events together. He’s my favorite doubles partner … I will always pick him,” said Williams, a 41-year-old Marion right-hander who operates Hall of Fame Pro Shop in the city.
It was Williams’ second appearance at Hall of Fame, with the first coming during a Junior Tournament Bowlers Association (JTBA) adult-junior event.
“I found out about it from Vincent Ludwig,” Williams said. “He posts a list of events going on every Wednesday on Facebook and I got ahold of Michael.”
Mossbarger, a 27-year-old Columbus left-hander, was making his first Hall of Fame appearance. A professional bowler by trade, he feels the future is bright with the changes being made in the Professional Bowlers Association.
“They look to be in good form. Some things have been worked out and I see brighter things ahead,” Mossbarger said.
Being alone on the pair all night was something Mossbarger and Williams were able to use to their advantage.
“The shot played pretty well honestly,” Mossbarger said. “Once we found a shot, we really didn’t have to move. We knew we could use that to our advantage, and we did.”
Mossbarger went with the Storm Concept all night while Williams started with the Radical Outer Limits and moved to the new Brunswick Strategy Logic.
“I think this might be our first win together,” said Williams, who finished with 980, including a 290 in Game 3, to Mossbarger’s 965. “We’ve come close a few times, but haven’t been able to get over the threshold.”
PAIRING UP LATE
Ray and Cohagan were supposed to bowl with different partners in the event — the former with Tony Throckmorton and the latter with Dean Vargo. But both canceled, so they ended up together.
“We get together for some random tournaments,” said Ray, a 26-year-old Willoughby left-hander who also found out about the event via Facebook.
“It wasn’t the hardest shot, but it wasn’t the easiest either. You still had to make shots.”
Cohagan, a 30-year-old right-hander now living in Massillon, liked the shot because “I could gear down a little and not have to rip the holes out of it.”
“I just liked the whole pace of it. I think being on the same pairs helped players get better as we went along,” said Cohagan, who finished with 952 to Ray’s 890. “I’d like to see this continue. Getting 46 players for the first time out is pretty good.”
Ray liked staying on the same pair for one key reason — he could avoid the end pair of lanes.
“Anytime I can do that,” Ray said, “it helps.”
Davis plans on another scratch doubles event at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at Hall of Fame with a similar four-game format. However the teams will not be random doubles — one player must be born in the 2000s while the other must be born in the 1900s. Entry fee will remain $100 per team.
NOTEBOOK: Alliance right-hander Stansbury had the lone 300 of the event in Game 3 en route to a tourney high 1,014 series (254 average). He had a 300 game and 800 series on the nose earlier last week at Amron Lanes in Canfield. … Leasure and Liolios shot 445 the final game to edge the team of Scott Eddy and Brent Watson by just 10 pins for the final cash spot (1,738). The team of J.D. Jones and Matt Frock was 38 pins back (1,710). … In addition to Williams’ 290, Mattern also posted a 289. … Williams and Mossbarger posted the high team game of 547 in Game 3. They had 504 to lead after Game 1 and remained at the top throughout. The only other team to shoot 500 was Fath and Stansbury in Game 3 (527), when Stansbury had his 300. Mattern and Smith were next with 498. … Our thanks to Davis for his assistance and generosity in aiding with our reporting during this event.
HALL OF FAME SCRATCH DOUBLES
(Sunday, at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes, Canton)
Final standings
(Based on four-game scratch pinfalls)
1, Michael Williams II-Michael Mossbarger 1,945, $520 earnings; 2, Dell Ray Jr.-Casey Cohagan 1,842, $400 earnings; 3, Cooper Smith-Chance Mattern 1,779, $280; 4, Randy Fath-Lew Stansbury 1,764, $200; 5, Ethan Gary-Bailey McGinnis 1,761, $150; 6, Alan Leasure-Ryan Liolios 1,748, $100
