Peninsula Bowling - Spring '18 Round 1 Recap

As Kevin Durant would say, "You da real MVPs"

Three frames into our 2nd game, there was a nervous energy at the Obviously Not Golfers table. Kristen Saunders' incredible 215 kept the team's championship hopes alive, but the rest of the group was struggling. I excused myself to go to the restroom, and as I stepped up to the urinal (last one in the corner with my back to the rest of the room to make sure no one can peek at my penis, of course), the distinctive bass line of Queen's 'Under Pressure' began to play. It was a fitting song. As I relieved myself listening to David Bowie repeating, "This is our last dance. This is our last dance." I knew it was time to step up. It was time for a hero.

Heading back into the alley with an empty bladder and a full heart, I started knocking down pins. Strike, Strike, Spare, 9, Strike, Strike, Strike, 8. Final score: 181. A new personal best and enough to help Obviously Not Golfers advance to the championship round as the 4th seed.

Some men wilt under pressure. Others thrive on it.

The championship rounds are now set. Congratulations to Eye Candy, Big Booty Throws, Flame Throwers, and ONG for making the Domestic Beer Championship round. Split On My Face, What's In My Pocket, Don't Give A Split, and Hip Swivels made the Championship round in the Cup Trophy bracket (still need a better name for this trophy. Suggestions in the Facebook comments, please).

DOMESTIC CUP RECAP & CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

No surprise that Eye Candy advanced, they've been the most dominant team all season long and cruised into the next round with a 1,446 series. This is the 5th time this season that they've topped 1,400 combined pins. The only other team to hit that number is Big Booty Throws in week one (1,429). It's clear that Eye Candy has set the bar that the other three competitors have to clear to get to the championship.

The defending champions, Big Booty Throws, looked like they were in danger of getting eliminated last night. Without a couple of top performers Brandon Herring and Briana Anaya, they rolled a 523 in the first game. With their backs against the wall, Brandon Silver stepped up and had an incredible 2nd game, bowling a 217. It was a good time to get a new career best. Gina Usefara also helped the BBT advance. Her 160 in game 2 was 42 pins higher than her average.

The Flame Throwers were 4th place in the regular season, so it's no surprise they advanced. It took a total team effort to do so though. Craig Vincent, Carole Sterling, and Chris Granados all bowled above their season averages to punch their ticket to the dance. Craig lead the way with a 215 in the second league.

So, let's handicap the finals. Based on averages, here's what the odds look like.

1. Eye Candy: 1,413 pins
2. Big Booty Throws: 1,271 pins
3. Flame Throwers: 1,263 pins
4. Obviously Not Golfers: 1,163 pins

I guess we don't need to show up to the playoffs next week, right? WRONG. If history has shown anything in this league, it's that the top seed does not always come through in the end. In the past four seasons, only one top seed has won the title. Once you get to a one-game roll-off, anything can happen. 

CUP TROPHY RECAP & CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

On the lower bracket, it was anything but chalk. The 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 8th seed all advanced to the finals. The race for the final spot was TIGHT. Don't Give a Split narrowly edged out Trick Shotz by 4 pins to keep their championship hopes alive. Pin 'N' Juice, despite taking a blind score with only three players available still managed to come close. They finished with a 972, just pins below the qualifier. You have to think that if they had that fourth bowler, they'd have advanced. (The best ability sometimes is availability). 

Split On My Face was the top performing team in the lower bracket, rolling a 1081. As the 2nd seed in the Cup, they're the odds-on favorites to take home the trophy this weekend. Great job by a team that is full of newcomers to the CLUBWAKA Peninsula Bowling league. Keith Tabor was the standout for SOMF this week. His 180 first game is 55 pins higher than his average. 

What's In My Pocket? advanced with an all around solid performance. Each member of the team was at or around their season average. One notable item is that Jeff Phillips has now bowled a 105 in the past three straight games. While that's not a score I'm sure he'd prefer, it's pretty impressive to see the consistency. 

The Hip Swivels are a talented group of bowlers, so despite being the 2nd to last seed, it wasn't surprising to see them earn a championship bid. With more attendance consistency, they would've been seeded much higher and may have been a Domestic Beer Trophy playoff contender. Even this week, they were missing their top bowler, David Tortolini, but the combined efforts of Geoff Morehart, Dave Merritts, Ben Ottman, and Abbie Watson were enough to pull them into the next round. 

Don't Give A Split held onto the final spot in the first round, narrowly edging out several teams. The Schaufs' lead the way. Holly had a 153 game and hubby Justin nearly matched that with a 151 of his own. Both games were significantly above their season averages and as noted earlier in this post, they needed every single pin to advance. 

Let's take a look at the Cup Trophy championship matchups. If we look at just the averages here's how the four finalists stack up. 

1. What's In My Pocket: 1,155 pins
2. Hip Swivels: 1,072 pins
3. Split On My Face: 1,068 pins
4. Don't Give A Split: 1,017 pins

Pretty tightly packed. Enough so that I don't think there is a clear cut favorite in the group. Who do you all think is going to win the Cup Trophy? Post your predictions in the Facebook comments. 

PLAYOFF ROUND 1 MVPS

GUYS

1. Ed Aaron, Eye Candy: 233
2. Brandon Silver, Big Booty Throws: 217
3. Craig Vincent, Flame Throwers: 215
4. Ed Aaron, Eye Candy: 215
5. Eric Poulin, Eye Candy: 181
6. Brent Wentworth Jr, Obviously Not Golfers: 181
7. Josh Carr, Pin N Juice: 181

LADIES

1. Kristen Saunders, Obviously Not Golfers: 215
2. Robin Bykowski, Eye Candy: 185
3. Carole Sterling, Flame Throwers: 173
4. Gina Usefara, Big Booty Throws: 160
5. Trish Phillips, Gutt-er-Done: 159

Good luck to everyone next week in the finale! Whether you made the championship round or not, please come bowl with us. We have all of the lanes reserved and paid for so join us for one last week of fun at Sparetimes!