As I was typing in the league results from this past week, I noticed a developing trend: So far this season there have been a number of keglers that have rolled 300 games (more on that later).
Last week, there could have been a lot more.
There were a total of six 279 games thrown, in addition to a pair of 278s, one 277 and a 276.
In most, if not all of the close calls, I'm assuming the main culprit that kept those bowlers from getting a 300 was an open 10th frame.
Since you would need a have a 270 going into the last frame in order to have a shot at a perfect game, rolling anything less than three more strikes would result in some of the scores that I mentioned above.
So my mind began to wonder, as it usually does, when I began thinking about what prevented those perfect games from happening.
Was it the pressure of getting a 300, or was it a case of the ball refusing to hook the right way or the pins refusing to fall the way they were expected to?
Over the years I've talked to many people about their perfect games and most of them have mentioned how much pressure there is to roll one, especially if they have yet to accomplish the feat. Then again, even the most seasoned bowlers with multiple perfect games still get that funny feeling in their stomachs when they begin the 10th frame with nine strikes.
Personally, I've never come even remotely close to bowling a perfect game. Shoot, I'm happy if I break 150.
But I have faced the pressures of writing a semi-literate story on deadline, so I know how tough it is working under pressure.
However, I can only imagine exactly what's going on inside their bellies and heads as they attempt such a game. One small slip-up in the approach to the line or placement of the ball can ruin your chances at a lifetime goal.
A little more than a year ago a Michigan man by the name of Don Doane died as a direct result of the pressures he faced while trying to get his first perfect game.
Moments after high-fiving teammates to celebrate his 300, Doane collapsed. He had a massive heart attack and probably died before he hit the floor.
Todd Place, a teammate of Doane's, said after the match, "You get nervous shooting a 300. The pressure keeps building."
And if it was some sort of bad pin break that ruined the perfect game, the worst case scenario would've been a 7-10 split.
The dreaded 7-10 split is by far the toughest shot to make in bowling, say two guys who know a thing or two about the sport -- Corey Wert and Bill Snyder -- coaches at Midd-West and Shikellamy high schools, respectively.
"Make it by driving the corner pin into the pit (very back of the lanes where the pins are collected) and hope it bounces back out and topples the other pin," Snyder said. "You can't physically slide the pin over. You must rely on a lucky bounce from the pin out of the pit."
Wert agreed, and he also said that rolling the 12th strike on your first perfect game is equally tough to do.
"The nerves can get the best of you, so duplicating what you have just done 11 times before becomes extremely tough."
Speaking of surviving the pressures of a perfect game, two were thrown recently at Best Bowl.
Jeremy Wray rolled one in the Thursday Night Men's Early League. He added games of 246, and ironically enough a 279, to finish with an 825 series. It was the first 800 series thrown at the alley this year.
The second 300 came from young Christopher Mullany on Saturday morning as he competed in a YABA match. Mullany also had games of 175 and 202 to finish with a 677 series.
Look for more on both of them in next week's column.
Wray shares this week's best men's bowler honors along with Richard Lingle, who had a 299 high game in the Tuesday Men's League.
The women's honor goes back to Best Bowl's Sandy Herrold as she continues to throw a hot ball. She had her 90th career 700 series in the Monday Night Ladies League with a 738 on games of 258, 257 and 223 for a 738 total.
Until next week, stay out of the gutters.
n Brian Holtzapple is a correspondent who covers bowling for The Daily Item. Email comments, news and results to keglerskorner@dailyitem. Com.
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