League Night - NSAC - Victory Lanes, Kankakee, Illinois
Well, another league night filled with some good shots, some bad shots, and some missed opportunities. Here's the tale of the tape:
Game 1 - X X X X 6/ X 9/ X X 72 - 221
Came out throwing my 3000 abralon Mastermind Genius standing on 30. I really liked the look I had early. I was aggressive with the shot, and the ball responded wonderfully to it. The first four shots were absolutely pured. Sudden brain death caused shot five to sail right out the window, missing the head pin and leaving the 1-2-4-8, which I covered. I struck in the 6th, left a flat 10 (leaked the ball too far into the dry, which caused burn up) in the seventh, and then followed up with two solid strikes in the 8th and 9th. I liked the first ball in the 10th off my hand, but the hook spot down the lane grabbed it earlier than it had up to that point, sending the ball through the face to leave the 4-6-7. I covered two and walked away with 221 instead of a possible 256. Opportunity missed!
Game 2 - X X 8/ 9/ X X 9/ X X X9/ - 235
Keeping in mind what had just happened in the 10th of Game 1, I moved three boards left and stuck with the Masterming Genius for the first four frames of Game 2, which resulted in an opening double before going high for a 3-6 and leaving a weak 7-pin on a shot that clearly lost steam from the deep angle I was trying to play. As such, I immediately switched to my Melee Jab, which is pin down and at 2000 abralon plus high-gloss polish. I can't tell you how much I love that Jab when it's time to get deep inside. The ball is the perfect combination of length and down-lane movement! I was flush in the pocket the rest of the way. I doubled in the 5th and 6th, left a solid 9-pin in the 7th, and struck in the 8th, 9th, and 10th before another stone 9-pin ended the run and turned a possible 246 into 235.
Game 3 - 9/ 9/ X X 81 X 9/ 81 X XX3 - 195
Despite sitting at 456 when I easily could've been 500 plus, I was feeling pretty good heading into Game 3 because that's when the Jab tends to really shine for me. Sadly, tonight just wasn't the night to make that happen. I left a solid 8-pin in the first and a swisher 7-pin in the second after the ball came in just a hair late/behind the head pin. I doubled in the 3rd and 4th, but then I lost focus, failing to see the absolute burn spot that had materialized, which caused me to go high in the 5th and 8th. Despite throwing straight at the 3-6 cross-lane with a plastic ball, I still managed to chop the 3 off of the 6 in the fifth frame, and then I made a very poor attempt at the 3-10 in the 8th. It was at that point that I finally woke up and realized that I needed to make another 6 and 4 move to keep my ball from hitting the burn. After doing so, I threw great shots in the 9th, 10th, and 11th before a laughably poor, pulled shot earned me a runaway 3-count off the left side to finish with 195 for the game and 651 for the night.
All in all, I was happy with the way that I threw the ball. For the most part, I used the right balls and played the right part of the lane. Sadly, a few errant shots at inopportune times cost me a lot of pins. It happens. Still, in the long run, the Mastermind Genius and Melee Jab continue to give me an amazing 1-2 punch on this particular league shot. It should be noted that the lanes played quite a bit dryer than they have been. I heard many a bowler griping and complaining about the pattern. Not me. Using the Genius and the Jab, I had a good look all night long. These balls continue to impress!
