Last night was yet another well-organized and highly entertaining night of Dougieeevision Action Bowling by Douglas Herron, with a complete lineup of competitive and riveting matches. But with a lineup consisting of some of the top names in the NorthEastern Bowling Community, one match stood above all, with a large portion of the crowd comfortably settling in for a best of 5, $5K doubles match.
What took a few days to actually come together culminated in an insanely close match that went the full 5 game distance and was decided by 1 lonely pin. And what a pin it was. With Havel Wright and Michael Martell set to face off against Pierce Field and Stephen Bennett for a whopping $5K price tag, the crowd was sure to be lively and full of energy. And in retrospect, while I usually don't write full articles about action matches, I feel this one deserved it, being one of the most entertaining and competitive action matches I've ever witnessed.
Game 1 started quietly, with a comfortable win for Field and Bennett, highlighted by Bennett's 265. Game 2 was close throughout with Bennett shooting 246 to Wright's 238. With Field maxing at 279 and Martell with the front 9, it was anyone's game. But with Field ringing a 10-pin and Martell striking, the series was tied, with Martell finishing at 286. Game 3 was one-sided from the beginning with Wright leading the way, and he and Martell were one win away from taking the V. However, Game 4 saw Martell struggle and that meant the entire $5K was riding on a winner-take-all Game 5.
Game 5 was nothing short of spectacular, with Field and Bennett jumping out to an early lead powered by Bennett's front 4. Havel responded beautifully with a solid 5-bagger in frames 3 - 7 and the entire match was coming down to the final few frames. Frame 8 and Frame 9 were a total wash, as Bennett went spare - strike to Havel's consecutive spares, while Field and Martell matched strike-spare and the teams headed into a do-or-die tenth frame with Martell and Wright nursing a 10-pin lead, as Bennett maxed at 234, Wright 244 and both Field and Martell capping at 238 apiece.
And that's when the theatrics occurred.
Bennett's first tenth frame ball took off and he left a 2-4-5 to the crowd's chagrin. Wright had a chance to capitalize, but his shot was high from the get-go and he left a 4-6-7. With the pressure squarely on Bennett, he calmly picked up the spare and with Wright covering the wood, Bennett needed a strike to give his team a 1-pin lead going into the anchor bowlers. Bennett's shot was pure as it left his hand and with a crashing boom, he and Field had a chance to shut out the match if Field could triple in the tenth.
The pressure was on, the sweat was dripping and $5K was on the line coming down to the final 2 bowlers tenth frames. Martell went first and crushed an absolute no-doubter, forcing Pierce to throw the first strike. Field responded with a light mixer that left the pins scattering around the deck, and with an awkward fist pump oozing with confidence, the pressure once again shifted back to Martell.
Martell was missing a pin on his next approach and so both bowlers decided it was a good idea to take reracks. Martell's rerack served its purpose perfectly, as once again he crushed a strike with all ten pins in the pit and round we went as Pierce once again needed to strike to keep his team's hopes alive. Pierce's 11th shot looked light from his hand, however, with a little bit of luck, all ten pins somehow managed to trickle down and it was coming down to the final shot for each bowler, with Field needing to match whatever Martell did for all the marbles.
As Field walked back to the ball return, Martell uttered, "can you throw it a little better," adding a little vitriol to the already highly contentious matchup. Martell then started his approach, but, as if the Gods were watching intently, Martell's 12th shot came up very high, however the 4, 6 and 7 pins all somehow managed to fall, leaving him with only a 6-pin, and instead of Field needing something as simple as a 6-count to win, the fortuitous break forced him to throw a 9-count or better to take the win, with an 8 count resulting in a tie. This day, however, belonged to the pair from Long Island, as Field promptly left a bone-shattering, stone 8-pin, but the 9-count was all he needed. As he happily paraded around the approach pointing to his arms as if to signify ice in his veins, half the crowd bellowed out a raucous yell and the $5K was theirs for the taking.
Here are some of the other night's results, as outlined by Herron:
Ball Raffle: Won by Danny Breezy
Strike Ball: Won by Jeremy Milito for $250
$300 BRACKETS
Robyn Algieri def Thomas Cacioppo Jr. 3-1
Anthony D'Elia def Jeremy Milito 3-1
Robyn def D'Elia in finals ($800/$400 split)
Terrence Taylor def Jake Kowaleski 3-2
John Cummings def Quentin Collins 3-1
JC def Terrence in Finals ($800/$400 split)
Luis Ruiz def Twone Williams
Idris Edmond def Chondite Faison
Then Chondite def Idris
Dayday Green & Jack Kampf def John Knieriemen & Michael Lamanno
Then Knieriemen def Jack for a bunch of cash
Chris Aponte & Brandon Burwell def Mike Angelus & Joe Novara
Then Burr and Angelus bowled afterward
Gregory Schultz def Danny Breezy
I think Max Billie also beat Breezy
Justin Kampf & Vincent Balisky def Keko & Steve Miglino (i think)
Silk Braddon lost to Darius Fuller
Roderick Mahon def Chondite in a plastic ball match
Jayla Neemani def Luis Fancy Rodriguez
Dennis Garcia def Joey Nava
Little Buda & Dejesus def Alyssa Berke & Anthony Tweed
I think Jay Hollywood-Breezy def Schultz
I think Joe LaBargo def Samuel Farber I dunno
