You must come into this tournament with a level head, know you are likely not going to put up any huge games and be mentally prepared for a grind to the fullest extent.
Unfortunately I had been sick for the month leading up to this event and, prior to the sweeper event on Friday night, had only bowled three games since the Holiday Doubles which was back on December 17th. I refused to let that be an excuse and buckled in for what I knew would be a long 5 games of bowling Saturday morning.
During practice I tried my Columbia300 Tyrant that was at 500 grit, my Track Cyborg that was at 500 grit and my Hammer Phobia that I hit with a 1000 pad during practice. After our 15 minutes of practice had been completed I was in full panic mode, as I hadn't even come close to hitting the pocket and had absolutely no idea how to attack the lanes to being the day.
I decided to try and take my Cyborg and just trap the headpin until I got comfortable and, well, I failed miserably at doing it. My first ball of the event I missed a little up the lane and it never hooked, leaving a 3-6-7-9 to start. Needless to say, I wasn't able to create enough angle down lane to make it but got my count and moved onto the next frame, which wasn't much better. I moved my feet another 2 left but kept my target the same, aced it, 4-6-10...
18 in the second, when you know you're not going to be able to string together strikes, is not exactly how you want to get out of the gate. I kept fishing around and managed to mix in a double and stayed clean for 182. Trust me when I saw I was VERY happy to get off that pair without digging a bigger hole to start my day.
I moved to the next pair and decided to stay with the same plan of attack and things managed to get worse. I started x, high flush 8 pin (twister pins) spare, x, high flush 8 pin (twister pins) flag it.
Noooo! Again, this is going to be a grind, missing single pins is flat out unacceptable.
The next few frames were a combination of horrid shot making and worse decision making leading to a strike followed by a 3-7 split (spared), missing the headpin and leaving the 1-3 (spared), missing the headpin leaving the 1-3-6-9 and missing it before leaving another high flush 8 pin in the 10th for 170.
Two games in, 48 under and not in the cut. Consider me crabby at this point.
On the way to my pair for the third game I thought to myself "wait, you're having all sorts of troubles getting your ball to shape at all ... why are you throwing a pin up ball? Why not use something pin down so that it can at least try to see the front part of the lane and smooths out the back rather than the "reaction" I had seen the first two games where it went dead straight if I missed left or up the lane, but snapped high if I grabbed it too much or missed in."
So game 3, based on what I learned Friday night and knowing I needed to trust my gut more, I started with the pin up Cyborg again rather than making the switch to begin the game. After a high flush 8 pin in the first frame, strike in the second following by a 5 count washout and a 3-7-9, it was time to make the change.
In the 5th frame I grabbed my Ebonite Mission Unknown, which has a 2" pin and is pin under the ring finger , that I had hit it with a 500 pad that morning before we started. I proceeded to throw a triple before juicing one up a bit and leaving a 3-9 in the 8th. I struck again in the 9th but left a really good 7 pin in the 9th and ending with 192.
After game 3 I had moved into the cut, but just barely. I had a lot of work to do these next two games.
Game 4 was much of the same that I had seen all morning. Started with a strike but missed the headpin in the second (1-3-9 spare), weak 7 pin in the 3rd (spare), half-pocket 7-10 in the 4th, strike in the 5th, 3-5-6 in the 6th, chopped it. Needless to say, at this point, I was in fry mode. I am pretty sure this is when I made a Facebook post that read: "Sizzle Sizzle Pop Boom" and then text Matt Sanders and Brett Shepherd to let them know that it wasn't looking good for me to make the first cut and needed to figure something out quick or I wouldn't be bowling Saturday night. I stayed clean the rest of that game and ended with 180, leaving me a little ahead of the cutline with one game to go.
Knowing I likely needed somewhere around 180 or above to feel somewhat safe about securing my spot into the second round my idea was to just stay close to the pocket, make some spares, survive this cut and then try and figure out some sort of magic reaction later that night in the second round.
First frame that game plan went right out the window as my ball actually hooked a bit in the front and went high for a 2-4-7-8, which I promptly chopped. Awesome.
I made just a little move with my feet but also brought my index finger in a little closer and tilted my right foot a little more right so that I ensured my first step was in the direction I wanted and tossed the next three strikes followed by a 5 count washout. Seemed every time I had a double or triple my next should would be just fast enough that it would hydroplane right past the spot.
After that frame I was able to strike in the 6th, nine spare in the 7th, strike in the 8th and nine spare in the 9th giving myself a chance to mark in the 10th and feel good about my spot, which fortunately I did by throwing a double and ending with 199, thus securing my spot into the next round.
It was a complete mental and physical grind, which was expected. Based on what I felt I had that morning combined with my suspect spare shooting and shot making, I was less than excited or confident in my chances heading into Saturday night.
That being said, I never give up, ever, and I was determined to figure out something. Whether or not my determination would help my shot making was a whole other argument.
#TeamEBI #InfuseYourGame
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