Staff report
BELLEFONTAINE — The Sidney boys and girls bowling teams competed on Saturday in the Bellefontaine Baker Bash, and the Jacket boys came home with the first-place trophy.
Each team bowled 10 baker games, then the field was cut to the top eight for best 2 out of 3 match play.
Sidney ended up qualifying fourth for match play and took on the host team in the first round and won in three games.
Next came Centerville, and Sidney won in two games. That put them in the finals against Vandalia and Sidney again won in two straight for the championship.
“The boys did a great job in the Centerville match,” said Sidney coach Trent Knoop. “We just out-adjusted better than the opposing team. We practice adjustments a lot, and that really helped on Saturday.
“It’s our first tournament win of the season and I couldn’t be happier,” said Knoop. “Everything seems to be clicking right now. All eight of our bowlers are bowling well and it’s an awesome feeling as a coach knowing that any of your bowlers can be counted on. The boys really deserve this win. It was a proud moment for everyone involved.”
The Sidney girls struggled in the first five baker games, but shook that off and qualified fourth.
“They were just putting way too much pressure on themselves and missing easy spares they don’t normally miss,” said Knoop. “The key contributor during qualifying was Ariona Grisham. She has really worked hard on her game and has bought into my philosophy on spare shooting. She always wants to shoot spares and has really improved on them. She only had two missed spares during the qualifying round and that’s really good.”
Sidney took on Jonathan Alder in the first game and lost 2-1 to be elimninated.
“The girls started off strong with a win in the first game, but ended up losing the next two games,” said Knoop. “I thought they performed well. They fought through adversity and bowled well when it counted. I believe they all got a taste of what it feels like to bowl in match play rounds and I think it will be a different story next time.”
