Odd Balls take the lead, Steinmuller stuns as Bowler of the week

BY CARA LORIZ

The Odd Balls took advantage of a bye week for Paint by Numbers and took over the top spot by defeating the Guttersnipes in Week 7 of the ladies league. In the second match-up, Lynda Steinmuller stunned the competition to take Bowler of the Week honors while leading Mama P’s Chicks to a victory over the Fabulous Five.

On Monday, only two Odd Balls came to play — Bev Pelletier and Stephanie Tybaert. When fielding a team this small, adjusted averages are plugged in for absent players and the bowlers rarely rest, which can help or hurt a team. Stephanie seemed to like the pace — she threw two hot games.

Guttersnipe Cathy Driscoll started game one with her own heat, closing the first four frames, picking up two more and finishing with a 144. But Stephanie followed a strike in the second frame with three spares, and picked up another three late for a 152 score. Bev closed five frames early, cooled off and then threw a strike in the 10th. The Odd Balls won the first game handily.

Stephanie brought her strike count up to three in game two, added as many spares, and scored a 157. Bev matched Stephanie’s marks in her 143 game. Cathy sandwiched two spares with strikes in frames five through eight, but it wasn’t enough and the Balls took game two.

Everyone cooled off in game three except Cathy and her six closed frames. Marks were hard to find elsewhere on either score sheet — the funk that descended on the lanes meant that the absent Odd Balls’ scores would be a big plus.

If not for that, and extra pins in the 10th for the two Odd Balls, the Guttersnipes would have won game three. Thanks to two strong games, Stephanie tallied the high series score of the week. Sadly for the Snipes, the Odd Balls took the match and all 11 points.

Tuesday’s competition opened with a tough battle between three Chicks and four of the Fab Five. Chick Lynda Steinmuller found her groove on the second ball, picking up three spares in a row, and then a strike in the fifth. She built a mighty foundation with a spare in the eighth, a strike in the ninth and a 20-pin 10th frame for a 151.

The Fab Five kept pace, and Jackie Brewer scored the high game of the week with a 159. Once the handicaps were added, the Chicks took game one by 10 pins.

In game two, “Dead-on” Donna Cass outscored the lot with 145, and Audrey Marshall bowled her second 120-plus game in a row. But they couldn’t keep up with the Chicks. Captain Jules had her Best game with a 134, and Melissa Steinmuller picked up four spares in a row with her “magical ball” (as noted by the scorekeeper) in the Chicks game two route.

Lynda picked up the pace again in game three — this Bowler of the Week finished the series with all the top average and handicap scores: high handicap game (214) and series (585), most over average game (41 pins) and series (66 pins). But the Fabulous Essie Simovich and teammates Donna and Jackie all bowled in the upper 140s, and they won game three by a 46-pin margin. In the end, the Chicks took 8 of 11 match points, despite the Fabs racking up the high series score for the week.

Week 7 Team Standings
Team    Won    Lost    Total Pins
Odd Balls    41    25    12514
Paint by Numbers    40    15    10722
Mama P’s Chicks    29    26    10446
Guttersnipes    24    42    12412
Fabulous Five    20    46    10523