Wildcats Capture County Crown
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. – Lee High’s Devyn Fillio Friday led the Wildcats to a county championship at Cove Lanes.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the title match against McCann Tech and took a 4-1 win on the strength of the best Baker Format game thrown by any team in the four-game playoffs in the clinching game.
Lee’s five bowlers, alternating frames, rolled a 233 for its fourth and final win of the match against the Hornets.
Fillio was named the most valuable player of a team that used eight bowlers over the course of 11 games and included Maddy Kotek, Nate Terry, Jaden Parks, Lauren Scheurer, Rydel Grenga, Hailey Hankey and Kyle Miller.
McCann Tech rolled with five bowlers to carry the load of its 10 games. Reilly and Ryder LeFebvre were joined by teammates Jordyn Hamilton, Jonathan Miller and Connor Snow at the championship.
Third-seeded McCann Tech advanced with a 4-1 win over Taconic, which jumped in front with a win in Game 1 of their best-of-seven match. The Hornets broke 200 in two of their games, both wins, the only other team to hit that number before Lee in the final game of the day.
The top-seeded Wildcats came back from a 2-1 deficit to beat No. 4 Monument Mountain, the reigning state champion, 4-2, in their semi-final.
The title match featured three narrow decisions, a 177-175 win by Lee to start, followed by Game 2, which required a rolloff by the Wildcats, 58-40, to go up, 2-0.
Lee led, 3-0, before McCann Tech rallied with a 174-166 win in the fourth game. But Lee’s standout performance in Game 5 gave it a 233-171 win and the county championship.
All four teams qualified for the State Championship weekend at the end of the month. The team championship will be decided on Saturday, Feb. 28, at Cove; the individuals will be decided the next day at K&M Bowling in Pittsfield.
Game scores
Semifinals
Taconic 181, McCann Tech 151; McCann Tech 216, Taconic 178; McCann Tech 202, Taconic 174; McCann Tech 193, Taconic 178; McCann Tech 172, Taconic 131. McCann Tech 4, Taconic 1.
Lee 180, Monument Mountain 136; Monument Mountain 147, Lee 142; Monument Mountain 153, Lee 146; Lee 158, Monument Mountain 138; Lee 160, Monument Mountain 126; Lee 170, Monument Mountain 158. Lee 4, Monument Mountain 2.
Final
Lee 177, McCann Tech 175; Lee 171, McCann Tech 171 (58-40, Lee in rolloff); Lee 171, McCann Tech 127; McCann Tech 174, Lee 166; Lee 233, McCann Tech 171. Lee 4, McCann Tech 1.