M.I.S.T. Tournament #3 Recap: Meadow Lanes, E. Wilton, ME.

Hello again bowlers, and welcome to the recap for the M.I.S.T. Tournament held on November 13th, 2011 at Meadow Lanes in East Wilton, ME.  This is the first time in the 3 year history of the M.I.S.T. that we went to Meadow Lanes, and we would like to thank ALL of the staff in East Wilton for making us feel welcome and accommodating to each and every one of our tournament needs.  There were many other competing tournaments going on the same weekend as the M.I.S.T., so entries were down a little this month compared to the first (2) tournaments of the season, and we ended up getting (18) entries in the M.I.S.T. tournament.  This meant that we took (4) cash qualifiers, with all (4) rolling off in our step ladder final roll off for the M.I.S.T. tournament title.  Meadow Lanes put out an oil pattern the M.I.S.T. has not seen yet, and that was the Team USA “London” oil pattern.  This is a 42ft. pattern with very defined edges to the oil line, making keeping the ball in play and angles to the pocket the two biggest keys to success on this particular pattern.  This played as our 2ndtoughest pattern so far this season, as the field average was only 192.2, and it took a score of 838 to qualify for match play, for an average of 209.5 to cash.  Here are the results from the (4) game qualifying round, with the cash line separated by a “—-“:

James Goulding III – 893

Roger Sorrells – 868

Cory Lagner – 844

Rick Campbell – 838

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Bob Nile – 832

Joe Colcord – 812

Sarah Pelletier – 781

Brett Mason – 773

John Archer – 768

Adam Jordan – 748

Andrew Hinkley – 745

Jerry Donna – 745

Jason Ward – 742

Jimmy Clark – 728

James Ward – 699

Bob Violette – 695

Jim Morin – 674

Bennett Meyers – 656

With the (18) entries, it meant that all (4) cash qualifiers would be rolling off in the step ladder finals.  Our first match featured Cory Lagner, making his first championship round appearance of the 2011 – 2012 season, bowling against Rick Campbell who was also making his first championship round appearance of the season, but Rick also cashed 7th in the 1st M.I.S.T. of the 2011 – 2012 season.  Cory qualified 3rd with a nice 844 set, while Rick squeaked into 4th with an 838, just (6) pins ahead of 5thplace finisher Bob Nile.  Cory and Rick are long time friends, but that didn’t stop a fiercely competitive and entertaining match from unfolding.  Rick got dialed in fairly early, while Cory really struggled to find the right angle to carry, even though he was keeping it clean the whole match.  Rick pulled away with a key 4 bagger, and put the match away with a final score of 236 – 181.  Cory had a great day on a tough oil pattern, finishing in 4th place, and picking up 50 Bowler of the Year points on the day, nice bowling Cory.

Our semi-final match featured two long time friends and adversaries.  Both men have been staples on top of the Maine bowling scene for the past 3(+) decades.  Our second seed was Roger Sorrells, who qualified with a stellar 868 total, and he would be taking on the winner of the previous match, and that was Rick Campbell.  These two men have battled many times before, but this would be their first meeting in the M.I.S.T. finals against one another.  The match was pretty even for the first 5 frames, but as the last match seemed to progress, so did this one, as a key ball change for Rick meant instant success with yet another 4 bagger late in this match against Roger.  Roger, on the other hand, struggled to find the same look on the lane that had brought him so much success in the qualifying round, and he could never get close enough to Rick to force him into a pressure mistake.  But, both battled honorably, and in the end, Rick pulled away to a final score victory of 230 – 178.  Roger capped off a great day of bowling with a 3rd place finish, and grabbed 60 Bowler of the Year points in the process.  Good bowling Roger!

Our championship match featured the top seed James Goulding III, making his first M.I.S.T. finals appearance of the 2011 – 2012 season, going against the red hot Rick Campbell, who was coming off of two very impressive wins in his previous two matches, averaging 233 in the finals so far.  James qualified 1st with a very nice 893 set, pacing the field.  But, in a one game winner take all match, you can throw those stats out the window.  For the 3rdstraight month, the M.I.S.T. final match was a great battle, between two worthy opponents.  James grabbed an early lead getting off to a fast start, but Rick did not let him get too far away.  Both bowlers were keeping the frames clean until James blew out a 6-8 split high flush, opening the door a crack for Rick in the 7th frame.  Rick could only spare, but did stay within striking distance (no pun intended) of James going into the 9th and 10th frames.  Then, the match really became a classic.  Rick made a big jump inside with a weaker ball, striking in the 9th, 10th, and 11th boxes, taking the lead on James.  Rick struck on the 12th ball also, to finish with a 208 score.  James had a strike working in the 9th frame, and because of Rick’s great 10thframe bowling, he needed to strike on his first ball of the 10th frame and get good count in the 11th to win the match.  James stepped up and flushed a pocket strike in the 10th, and followed it up with a 9 spare in the 11th frame to finish with a 213 score, and picked up the victory.  A great ending to a fantastic day of scratch bowling in the M.I.S.T. tournament.  Rick picked up a 2nd place finish and 70 Bowler of the Year points on a fine effort running all the way through the pack, until coming up just short in the final match.  Great job Rick, I am sure we will see you again in the finals soon!

The story of the day was James Goulding III, and his ability to stop the freight train named Rick Campbell in the final match.  This was the first time that the top seeded bowler has won this season, as it was the 4th and 2nd seeds who won the previous two M.I.S.T. tournaments.  James picked up a huge 100 Bowler of the Year points, and his 3rd career M.I.S.T. title, putting him second all time behind the (4) titles of both Jon Dow and Joe Colcord.  Well done James, and congrats on the victory!  Here are the final standings, with the Bowler of the Year points earned next to eachbowler’s name:

1)  James Goulding III – 100

2)  Rick Campbell – 70

3)  Roger Sorrells – 60

4)  Cory Lagner – 50

5)  Bob Nile – 5

6)  Joe Colcord – 5

7)  Sarah Pelletier – 5

8.)  Brett Mason – 5

9)  John Archer – 5

10)  Adam Jordan – 5

11)  Andrew Hinkley – 5

12)  Jerry Donna – 5

13)  Jason Ward – 5

14)  Jimmy Clark – 5

15)  James Ward – 5

16)  Bob Violette – 5

17)  Jim Morin – 5

18)  Bennett Meyers – 5

Come join us at the next M.I.S.T. tournament, which will be held on December 11th, 2011 at Yankee Lanes in Portland, ME.  Check in time is 9:15 AM, with tournament bowling commencing at 10:00 AM sharp!  Cost is only $45 with a $10 high game pot and plenty of $5 brackets to choose from.  Come bowl in the biggest monthly scratch tournament in Maine, and throw your hat in the ring for our Bowler of the Year title.  The race is tight, and remember, the winner gets their choice of ball professionally drilled by Moore’s Pro Shop located within Spare Time Recreation in Lewiston, ME.  Moore’s Pro Shop is the official sponsor of the M.I.S.T., and YOUR full service pro shop.  Make an appointment with Scott at (207) 786-BOWL for your next bowling ball, bag, or shoe purchase.  See you next month in Portland everyone, good luck and good bowling!

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