League Night - NSAC - Victory Lanes, Kankakee, Illinois

It always amazes me when I realize just how few bowlers recognize the importance of proper matchups. If you put the right ball at the right surface in the hands of the right bowler at the right time and he or she plays the right line to the pocket, you can run into a situation where that bowler looks unstoppable. On the flip-side, when you have bad matchups, even the most talented players in the world can look mediocre. Tonight's league set should've exemplified that for anyone who was paying attention!

Game 1

X X X X X X X X 9/ X9/ - 269

Earlier today, I told my little girl that it was time for me to shoot another 300 since it's been a few years since I carded my last one. I didn't throw the ball great during this game; nevertheless, I nearly thought I was going to pull it off. Going back to what I was saying about matchups, that was the key here. Standing at 30, my Mastermind Genius was simply masterful during this game! I had at least 3-4 shots that were creeping high, and I managed to trip the 4-pin or 4-7 each and every time to keep my string alive. The shot in the 9th frame missed inside by about 2 boards, but I didn't catch it as well as I normally do, so I actually thought the ball would settle into the pocket. My fear was having enough drive to get the 10-pin out. To the Geninus' credit, the ball still had plenty of energy at the pins, which actually caused the ball to drive too hard, squeezing past the 9-pin and ending the run. The first ball in the 10th was flush, and then I left another 9-pin on the second shot to finish at 269, which, while not quite the 300 I was hoping for, was not a bad start in the least!

Game 2

X X X X X 9/ X 9- 9/ 8/9 - 224

Obviously, this game started off just fine. I stuck with the Mastermind Genius, moved in a few more boards and continued striking. Sadly, the lanes started to transition like they always do during Game 2, and for some unknown reason I missed it. The ball in the 6th left a ringing 10, so I didn't feel too bad about things; however, that was followed by a flat 10 (which I missed like a dummy) in the eighth, a half-10 in the ninth, a ball through the nose for a 3-6 in the 10th and a swish zone 5-pin on the fill. When it was over, my front five start turned into a limp to the finish and a 224. Clearly, I should've switched to the Melee Jab sooner!

Game 3

9/ X 9/ 9/ X X X X X 9/7 - 235

What I've noticed the past two weeks is that when I move to the Jab, I need to move a lot deeper than I used to and be sure not to get the ball too far right. If I do get it right, it bleeds, and my carry goes away. The first four shots were not promising. I went ring-10, strike, 2-pin (the ball didn't corner quickly enough), and a 4-pin. I was a bit perplexed because I really liked all four shots. I considered moving back to the Genius and tightening up my angle, but I also thought that a subtle speed adjustment might work. Thankfully, I trusted the speed adjustment, and that did the trick. The right lane required softer speed in order to get the ball off the spot from the puddle in the middle. I threw some really, really good shots in frames 5-9, setting me up to go off the sheet for 259. Unfortunately, I missed both 10th-frame shots at the bottom, resulting in a swish-zone 5-pin on the first shot and a 2-4-5 on the fill for 235.

Overall, I can't complain with 728 for three. The amusing part is that I actually threw the ball much better during Games 2 and 3 than I did during the front-8 269 in Game 1. Again, I was just matched up perfectly in Game 1, which gave me a ton of room and perfect carrry. The key is going to be to stay ahead of transition in the weeks to come so that I can make that good run at 800 instead of small-to-medium 700s. I guess we'll see if I can get that done next week!