Seymour bowlers rolling to regional today

The condition of the lanes at Columbus Bowling Center last weekend provided an opportunity for some different Seymour bowlers to take the spotlight.

“The oil patterns on the lanes were a little difficult for our very best bowlers,” Seymour girls coach Robin Cummings said. “So our very best bowlers did not carry our team, our team carried our team. That meant a lot to see the girls that have not always been leaders, they led. Our leaders still had very strong games, still put in solid performances, but our newer girls shocked us with some amazing bowling, and they led to some degree.”

The Seymour girls squad beat Bloomington North 1,934-1,795 to earn a spot in today’s regional at Liberty Bowl in Muncie.

The Seymour boys team placed third at sectional, just 24 pins away from a trip to the regional. But freshman Logan Moore took advantage of the slick lanes and advanced to regional as an individual with a 500 series. He was eighth overall, and the eighth spot was the cutoff for a trip to regional.

“I had a really good first game, 199, and then I kept slipping from there,” Moore said. “I ended up getting a 133 and I got eighth place, and eight go to regional.”

Moore said he had bowled a 500 series in a Saturday league, but that was his first time rolling that score with the high school bowling team.

“I was just on a good streak,” Moore said. “I kept my head in it and was ready to bowl that week. You’ve just got to be on a hot streak that day, and I was ready to bowl that day.”

Of regional, he said, “I would really like a 200 at least once. I’d like to go to semistate, but for being a freshman going to regional, that’s a pretty good achievement.”

Brittany Erwin of the Seymour girls team led with a high game of 173 and a high series of 428. It was her first time doing that this season, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. She’s a senior, and this is her first year on the team.

“It was probably one of the top five best scores I’ve had,” Erwin said.

Erwin placed third overall behind two Madison bowlers, while Seymour sophomore Amanda Creech was fourth with a 414 series and sophomore Stephanie Hensen was sixth with a 407 series.

“I knew that our team should move on, but I didn’t know I would place third as an individual because I didn’t think I’d have a chance,” Erwin said. “I just felt like I took time to focus on what I was doing and how I was throwing the ball.”

Her goals at regional?

“Make sure I hit my mark every time,” she said, “and place first at regional. That would be pretty awesome.”

Creech’s high game at sectional was a 155.

“I was nervous and excited, but once I got there I was really calm,” Creech said.

Key at regional, she said, is picking up spares.

“Because my dad says that we can make a strike whenever we want,” Creech said. “We just have trouble picking up spares sometimes.”

Hensen said she and Creech struggled in the first game at sectional, but she was glad the rest of the team stepped up and led the way.

“I was nervous, but then we knew we were going to regional and I felt a lot more relaxed and it was a lot easier,” Hensen said.

The Seymour girls had played Bloomington several times during the season, but Hensen expects the competition to be tougher at regional.

“We aren’t used to bowling against anyone else at all,” she said. “We’re probably going to be the underdogs this weekend, but I think we’ll pull through.”

Cummings said for her team to be successful today, it’s all about making a streak.

“What they don’t do that some of the other teams do, they don’t string together marks,” she said. “Stringing together several strikes makes a big difference. I talked to the girls about Brittany Erwin, who had been able to string together five strikes, ended up finishing third in the conference during individual play and the only reason she was able to do that was the five strikes she had on one individual game.”

Cummings said she’s been impressed with her team, given its youth.

“I really think when we get up there, we’ll do well,” she said. “It’s different because none of the girls now can bowl individually. We advance as a team or we’re done. If we don’t win as a team, we don’t advance.
“What I’m thrilled about is we’ll win or we’ll lose as a team, and there’s no one out there competing as an individual. These girls have been a strong team, they’ve stuck by each other and I really think they can win this. I’m really excited for them.”

Three boys teams and three girls teams from the Muncie Regional will advance to the Richmond Semistate the following weekend.