Martell & Stidd Bowl Perfection / Gilbert’s Earn Victory By Just 1 Pin

The PJBT continued its 19th Season with our last regular season event Adult Junior Event at Leisure Lanes in Lancaster, PA.  The event saw 71 teams or 142 people compete on this day.  We had 38 teams in Scratch and 33 teams in Handicap.  The event was conducted on the Kegel Main Street Pattern….which proved to produce a real high scoring pace.  The format for this adult junior was 5 games qualifying…top 40% of teams bowled 3 more games and the top 4 teams advanced to the finals.  Finals were 3 eliminator matches….4 teams to 3….3 teams to 2….and 2 to a winner.

In Scratch, Michael Martell & Kurtis Stidd captured the coveted victory.  Martell/Stidd started off strong with qualifying games of 475, and 466.  Game 3 they bowled an amazing 577 team game.  They followed it up with 469 and 430.  After 5 games, Martell/Stidd stood at +417 and was in 2nd place.  They only trailed tournament leaders Gene Blair and Jack Celmer.  The first round qualifying cut for 16th place is +195!  Round 2 saw Martell/Stidd shoot 475, 512, and 441.  These games boosted them to +645 after 8 games and grabbed them the lead of the event.  They entered the finals as the #1 seed vs #2 seed Alyssa Breidegam/Ryan Wyandt, #3 seed Antonio Reyes/Brad Kemp and #4 seed Bryan Bilanin/John Longacre.  In Eliminator 1 final….Martell/Stidd shot 477 and was the high score of 4 teams….which advanced them on.  In Eliminator 1, Breidegam/Wyandt was eliminated when shooting 418.  The 3 remaining teams advanced to Eliminator 2.  In the 2nd eliminator, Martell/Stidd bowled the high team game again with 451.  This advanced them to the final vs Bilanin/Longacre, who shot 431.  Eliminator 2 saw Reyes/Kemp…who shot 414.  Title match was #1 Martell/Stidd vs #4 Bilanin/Longacre.  Bilanin/Longacre was on an amazing run to the finals.  They were the last qualifying 16th place team during qualifying.  They shot 558, 567, and 450 to go from 16th place to 4th…and the finals.  They then survived two eliminator matches to compete for the win.  In the title match, Martell/Stidd made sure the great run of Bilanin/Longacre would stop.  Martell bowled a perfect 300 game in the title match…to go with Stidd’s 255 game.  Martell/Stidd shot 555 to Bilanin/Longacre team game of 416.  Michael Martell got the coveted win he needed to qualify for Championship Weekend and earned a $200 scholarship.  Stidd won $150 cash prize and plaque for the win.

In Handicap, Jacob & Becki Gilbert of Schuylkill Haven, PA, brought home the title.  The Gilbert’s entered the day with a 334 team average and 59 pins per game.  They shot team games of 358, 368, 341, 372, and 396.  They stood at +130 and was seeded 2nd entering Round 2.  First round qualifying cut was +4.  Gilbert’s shot 357, 373, and 379 in Round 2.  They maintained their 2nd place position entering the final.  In the first eliminator final….they shot 396 and survived being the 3rd place teams of 4 to advance.  In the second eliminator, Gilbert’s shot 420 and was the #2 of 3 teams to advance.  Gilbert’s advanced to take on #1 seed Haley Brown/Christine McHenry in the title match.  This match came down to the final shot!  Becki Gilbert needed 19 pins in the 10th frame to win by 1 pin….she struck on the first ball and then got 9 on her second ball in the 10th.  She missed her spare but didn’t realize it didn’t matter.  The Gilbert’s had won the title over Brown/McHenry by just 1 pin 348-347!  Jacob Gilbert won a $200 scholarship and plaque – Becki got $150 cash and plaque.

Congrats to all our honor score bowlers on this day.  Bret Zirkle started the day off with a 300 game and 814 series.  However, he was not in the 300 Pot.  We then had a run of adult high scores.  Chris Mullany & Dan Gordon both had perfect 300 games.  Chris Vital bowled back-to-back 300 Games in Game 5 and 6!   Brent Himmelreich also had an 11-in-a-row 298.  Michael Martell finished off the day with a 300 in the finals to win a bonus of $113 for 300 Pot.

Next week:  PJBT has Major #9 Singles at Berks Lanes in Sinking Spring, PA.  10:30am Start for the event.