THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409230226
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: Bill Leffler
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
Everybody hears the stories of the bowlers who go out and buy a new ball, then proceed to bowl a perfect game.
Doris English probably had those hopes when she competed in the Moonshiners Tenpin League at Plaza Bowl.
But after two games English was so frustrated with the new ball - and a hurting thumb - that she was ready to quit. Her two-game total was 313, far off the usual scores by the 175-average bowler.
A teammate talked English into continuing.
She decided to use her old plastic ball in the third game.
English then proceeded to bowl a 300, becoming only the second female league bowler to accomplish the feat ever at Plaza Bowl.
BOWLER-OF-THE-WEEK honors go to 19-year-old Pat Roeder of Virginia Beach, who registered the season's first 800 series.
Roeder, in his second year out of the youth leagues, fired games of 288, 265 and 247 in the Masters Tenpin League at Pinboy's of Lynnhaven for an even 800.
A 196-average bowler in three leagues last year, Roeder had never reached 700 before. ``I was stunned when they said I had hit 800,'' he said. ``I knew I was getting my first 700 and it was a high one. But I didn't know I made 800.''
The lefthander had to pull in the No. 7 pin for a spare and filled it with a strike on his last pitch for the 800.
Roeder's previous highest game was 275.
Roeder missed the first week of league play due to illness and was bowling for the first time since May.
DUCKPIN DATA: David Driskell of Virginia Beach won the September Virginia Pro Tour at Victory Lanes, his first title on the tour. Everybody's Tournament, a three-game handicap tournament held at the center during the pros' visit, went to another local bowler, Johnny Colley. Portsmouth's Troy Tippin captured the pro-am preliminary. . . . Bill Ellsworth fired 11 strikes en route to a 475 series in the Portsmouth Sunday School League at Victory, two pins shy of the league record set. . . . Tiger Baker, who has put a stranglehold on top ranking male bowler honors in the area in recent years, says a challenger to watch this season is Ronnie Sult. ``He's really in a scoring zone right now,'' said Baker. Baker has won the crown for four straight years. Sult was second last year, eighth two years ago. . . . Bowlarama is holding Game Nite each Saturday at 7:30 p.m. . . . Eighteen-year-old Kendra Allen, named to the National Duckpin Youth Association Major Girls All-America team last year, is off and running in the new season. She opened play in the Victory Youth League with a 152 game and 403 series. . . . Entries are now being accepted for the Herman Gaines Classic at Victory Lanes in October. The five-game handicap tournament starts on Saturday, Oct. 1 and will be held on three consecutive weekends. First prize is a guaranteed $1,000.
TENPIN TOPICS: Dave Roberts was a wiggle away from a 300 game in the Wednesday Nite Mixed League at Pinboy's of Lynnhaven. His 299 came in a 640 series. . . . Let's clarify a point on our report that Gina Forehand purchased both an ABC card and a WIBC card, posting high average for both men and women in the Monday Mixers Summer Tenpin League at Fair Lanes Military. Her average was the highest in that league by any bowler. Here's the way the ABC rules chairman in Greendale, Wis., says ABC rules cover such happenings. If a league is mixed, there should be separate high average awards for men and women and winners must be in their own gender. If a league has only one award for high average and a woman belongs to ABC, she can win it. . . . Carolyn Cotterell, one of the area's premier bowlers, competed last week in the National Slow Pitch Softball Tournament. . . . Jenny Lyons walked off with several WIBC awards in the Saturday Nite Live League at Plaza. She is a 148-average bowler and joined the Century Club with a 250 single. She also had a 618 series. . . . Chris Baron's 774 series in the Big Chiefs League at Indian River featured a 290 game. . . . The season's first 700 by a woman bowler was pitched by Fran Sansone in the Tuesday Mixed Majors at Plaza Bowl. She put together games of 235, 217 and 257 for 709. . . . Ron Stanley is taking bows for a 288 game in the Wednesday Nite Funseekers League at the Norfolk Naval Air Station. . . . Eric Crafton and Pat Edwards paired for 710 to win the Scotchi Doubles at Franklin Bowl. Ed and Chris Bredon were runners-up with 656. . . . Would you believe the ABC gave out 1,238,315 awards last season? Conceivably, it could mean more than half the male bowlers in the country won awards. by CNB