SSU men's varsity bowling finishes seventh at Hammer Saints Classic; JV unit finishes as tourney runner-up
The men's bowling program at Shawnee State University concluded a two-day run at the Hammer Saints Classic in solid fashion, as the Bears finished seventh overall in a competitive 11-team varsity bowling field and got a fantastic, spirited showing from its junior varsity group who claimed a second-place finish in the Newport, Ky.-based event, which was held at Super Bowl Bellewood Bowling Alley.
Much of the second day of competition saw the Shawnee State junior varsity group put together a fantastic effort in Baker games that was spearheaded by junior varsity members Tyler Roberts, Logan Hughes, Brendan Major, Isaac Halter, Jakob Pelfrey and Andrew Schoemer, who all contributed to a fantastic showing.
The SSU men, who finished third on the junior varsity side of action and held that position to claim the third and final qualifying spot for tournament competition, entered into a gritty showdown with Saint Vincent (Pa.) once again -- as the Bears and Bearcats dueled across three games.
Shawnee State bowled north of 210 in Game 1 to easily claim victory -- as Schoemer and Halter immediately began tournament play with back-to-back strikes while Hughes, Major, and Schoemer drained each pin on the fourth through sixth racks to notch a turkey and put St. Vincent in a deep hole that the Bearcats couldn't claw their way out of following Game 1 action.
After a Game 2 setback, both Shawnee State and St. Vincent competed to an essential dead heat through the first six games of the third and final game between the two units in junior varsity semifinal play.
However, Halter, Hughes and Roberts quelled any hope of a Bearcat victory -- as the trio combined for a clutch turkey by showing iron in not leaving a single pin up on the seventh, eighth, and ninth frames to seal a second 200 game and a victory that pitted the Bears against top-performing junior varsity unit Emmanuel (Ga.) in the Hammer Saints Classic JV Championship Match.
In that championship match, the Bears dropped the opener against Emmanuel, but made the Lions sweat in Game 2 as strikes by Halter on the second rack, Roberts on the third and eighth frames, Major on the fifth and 10th racks and Hughes on the ninth frame, along with an absolutely fantastic split conversion by Halter on the seventh rack, kept Emmanuel -- an NCAA Division II unit -- sweating all the way. Ultimately, Emmanuel, however, simply could do no wrong to start the second game by dropping in seven strikes of their own -- and as a result, edged SSU by a 214-194 count in Game 2 to win the title.
Varsity-wise, Zach Ison's impressive sixth-place individual finish carried over to strong play in Baker contests, while Blake Landers and Jaylen Sumler each added in top-15 individual performances from Saturday. Hughes and Major were named to the Hammer Saints Classic's JV All-Tournament Team for their efforts Saturday.
Additional
More information on Saturday's results can be found at https://www.ssubears.com/sports/mbowl/2023-24/releases/20240127xafo86.
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