Pittsfield Bowlers Go 3-0 in Dramatic Fashion in North Adams
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- On a day when the top four teams in the Berkshire County High School Bowling League squared off in a round robin of Baker format matches, the Pittsfield Generals came out on top in the dramatic fashion.
PHS came back from a 2-0 deficit to earn a 3-2 win over Wahconah in the day’s final match, giving the Generals three points for the day and second place in the league going into next week’s positional round at Ken’s Bowl in Pittsfield.
Friday’s Baker matches at Greylock Bowl and Golf kept the fans on the edges of their seats throughout … at least if they were following PHS.
The Generals got things started with a 3-0 win over Lee that ended only when Pittsfield anchor A.J. Moore struck out in the 10th to give his team a 167-166 win.
“Honestly, I didn’t do the math,” Moore said of his approach to the final frame against the Wildcats. “If I know it’s really close is not even look at it and try to keep my focus. Because I feel like every time I look at it or try to figure out what score I need, I can never seem to do it.
“Austin [Blessing] is really fast figuring out what the scores are. So after I hit the second one, and [Lee’s Adam Dingman] missed his seven pin, Austin was trying to call my name, but I’m like, ‘Nope. I’m not looking. I’m just looking at the lane.’
“And then after I threw it and saw that we won by one, I was in shock. I thought we had lost or we were behind. But it was awesome.”
And an awesome day was just getting rolling.
“We went to five against McCann, and I had to throw a couple of strikes in the 10th to win that one,” Moore said. “And then against Wahconah -- losing the first two and coming back, that was huge. Big resilience by our guys.”
The McCann-Pittsfield match was a rematch of Week 5, when the Hornets earned a 3-0 victory in the regular two full games/one Baker game format.
This time around, Pittsfield jumped out to a 2-0 lead before first-place McCann Tech was able to storm back with a 251 to take Game 3 and a 228 in Game 4.
In the deciding game, McCann had a sizable lead going into the eighth. But Cole Masiero and Colby Rooney rolled strikes in eight and nine to set the stage for Moore, who finished a five-strike run to end the game and give Pittsfield a 199-183 win and a 3-2 match win.
After that emotional high, the Generals dropped the first two games to Wahconah, which earlier dropped a heart-breaker to McCann Tech when Alex White’s spare attempt in the 10th of Game 5 glanced off the pin but left it standing to open the door for 183-168 Hornets win.
“We knew the person we wanted to beat more than anybody else was McCann,” Moore said. “So when we did that, our whole team was like, ‘OK, we just came back and won a huge match against a very talented opponent.’ And I think we went into the next match thinking, ‘OK, we won the match we wanted to. Let’s just go out and have some fun.’ “
Third-place Wahconah, which went 1-2 on the day, was having fun early, picking up wins by scores of 173-167 and 181-134, the latter Pittsfield’s low game for the day.
But Pittsfield came back with a 214-159 win in Game 3 to stay alive, and Moore struck out in the 10th to give his team a 198-171 win in Game 4 to force the winner-take-all fifth.
Wahconah held a narrow lead until the last couple of frames. Again, Rooney came up with a strike in the ninth to set the table for Moore, who got the strike he needed on his first ball and a seven on his second to give Pittsfield a narrow, 169-165 win.
The only other team to go 3-0 on Friday was Drury, which swept a round robin of the fifth- through eighth-place teams in the league to get a stranglehold on fifth place. The Blue Devils evened their season record at 12-12, putting them just two points behind fourth-place Lee.
But the Wildcats had plenty to be excited about coming out of Friday’s action as well after they grabbed a 3-1 against McCann. The Wildcats finished the final game of that match with five straight strikes, including Adam Dingman’s perfect 10th, to prevail, 204-191, and take just the third point McCann Tech has allowed all season.
“It feels good. We’ve got to do it in two weeks, that’s the big week,” Lee coach Matt Fillio said, referring to the county championship at Cove Lanes in Great Barrington on Feb. 15. “We bowled three really good teams hoping to take a couple of points. We took one, but McCann’s the best, so it feels good to beat ‘em.”
Fillio agreed that the league is wide open going into the final two weeks, especially since the championship will be decided again by Baker format matches, where five bowlers take turns alternating frames.
“Any of them could win it any day,” he said. “Baker is so tricky. Somebody gets a lucky strike, somebody throws a good ball and gets a split, it’s a huge swing. In a 10-frame game, five on five, you have a lot of time to make it up.
“In Baker, you don’t. You get two bad frames, and the other team gets two strikes, all of a sudden, you’re down 30. So it’s tough to make up. You’ve really got to make your spares. Missing spares can hurt you.”
LEAGUE STANDINGS
(Through eight weeks)
1. McCann Tech 21-3
2. Pittsfield 19-5
3. Wahconah 18-6
4. Lee 14-10
5. Drury 12-12
6. Mount Greylock 7-17
7. Mount Everett 5-19
8. Taconic 0-24
FRIDAY’S MATCH SCORES
Pittsfield (3-0)
Pittsfield 3, Lee 0. PHS 201, Lee 139; PHS 203, Lee 164; PHS 167, Lee 166.
Pittsfield 3, McCann 2. PHS 183, McCann 172; PHS 198, McCann 175; McCann 251, PHS 159; McCann 228, PHS 183; PHS 199, McCann 183.
Pittsfield 3, Wahconah 2. Wahconah 173, PHS 167; Wahconah 181, PHS 134; Pittsfield 214, Wahconah 159; PHS 198, Wahconah 171; PHS 169, Wahconah 165.
Wahconah (1-2)
McCann 3, Wahconah 2. Wahconah 203, McCann 166; Wahconah 240, McCann 177; McCann 222, Wahconah 153; McCann 269, Wahconah 181; McCann 183, Wahconah 168.
Wahconah 3, Lee 1. Wahconah 175, Lee 123; Wahconah 203, Lee 172; Lee 162, Wahconah 158; Wahconah 191, Lee 168.
Pittsfield 3, Wahconah 2. Wahconah 173, PHS 167; Wahconah 181, PHS 134; Pittsfield 214, Wahconah 159; PHS 198, Wahconah 171; PHS 169, Wahconah 165.
McCann (1-2)
McCann 3, Wahconah 2. Wahconah 203, McCann 166; Wahconah 240, McCann 177; McCann 222, Wahconah 153; McCann 269, Wahconah 181; McCann 183, Wahconah 168.
Pittsfield 3, McCann 2. PHS 183, McCann 172; PHS 198, McCann 175; McCann 251, PHS 159; McCann 228, PHS 183; PHS 199, McCann 183.
Lee 3, McCann 1. Lee 193, McCann 168; 2. McCann 244, Lee 156; Lee 171, McCann 166; Lee 204, McCann 191.
Lee (1-2)
Pittsfield 3, Lee 0. PHS 201, Lee 139; PHS 203, Lee 164; PHS 167, Lee 166.
Wahconah 3, Lee 1. Wahconah 175, Lee 123; Wahconah 203, Lee 172; Lee 162, Wahconah 158; Wahconah 191, Lee 168.
Lee 3, McCann 1. Lee 193, McCann 168; 2. McCann 244, Lee 156; Lee 171, McCann 166; Lee 204, McCann 191.
Drury (3-0)
Drury 3, Mount Greylock 0. Drury 179, MG 154; Drury 175, MG 131; Drury 156, MG 113.
Drury 3, Mount Everett 0. Drury 166, ME 113; Drury 189, ME 109; Drury 178, ME 164.
Drury 3, Taconic 0. Drury 201, Taconic 133; Drury 171, Taconic 122; Drury 208, Taconic 101.
Mount Greylock (2-1)
Drury 3, Mount Greylock 0. Drury 179, MG 154; Drury 175, MG 131; Drury 156, MG 113.
Mount Greylock 3, Taconic 2. Taconic 122, MG 92; Taconic 124, MG 96; MG 147, Taconic 84; MG 126, Taconic 120; MG 140, Taconic 113.
Mount Greylock 3, Mount Everett 1. MG 133, ME 112; MG 147, ME 130; ME 133, MG 74; MG 130, ME 111.
Mount Everett (1-2)
Mount Everett 5, Taconic 3. ME 112, Taconic 154; ME 140, Taconic 152; ME 146, Taconic 126; ME 122, Taconic 116, ME 145, Taconic 129.
Drury 3, Mount Everett 0. Drury 166, ME 113; Drury 189, ME 109; Drury 178, ME 164
Mount Greylock 3, Mount Everett 1. MG 133, ME 112; MG 147, ME 130; ME 133, MG 74; MG 130, ME 111.
Taconic (0-3)
Mount Everett 5, Taconic 3. ME 112, Taconic 154; ME 140, Taconic 152; ME 146, Taconic 126; ME 122, Taconic 116, ME 145, Taconic 129.
Mount Greylock 3, Taconic 2. Taconic 122, MG 92; Taconic 124, MG 96; MG 147, Taconic 84; MG 126, Taconic 120; MG 140, Taconic 113.
Drury 3, Taconic 0. Drury 201, Taconic 133; Drury 171, Taconic 122; Drury 208, Taconic 101.