Basel takes 2nd at State: boys and girls teams compete at bowling finals
Rogers City bowler Ben Basel became the Class C/D State Runner-Up Saturday at the finals in Sterling Heights. Basel lost in the finals to Peter Duran of Sandusky. Heather Kowalski, meanwhile placed in the top 16 and the Huron girls’ team won in the first round of team play. Basel won the first finals game 224-205. In the second game Basel had the chance to win the match in the tenth frame but a standing seven pin on his first shot gave the game to Duran 236-227.
Basel started slow in the third and final game with a spare and a split in the first two frames. He then rolled nine out of 10 strikes, ending with a 242, forcing Duran to strike on his first shot in the tenth frame. Duran was up to the task, striking out in the tenth to win the deciding game 258-242.
COACH BRIAN BANNASCH said, “This was the one of the gutsiest performances I have ever seen. Basel tore his thumb open in the fourth game of the day. By the end of the qualifying round he had about a one-inch square patch of skin missing. “He played 11 more games during the day without letting up. The pain from this type of injury is excruciating as you have the pressure of a 16-pound ball on it every frame.” Bannasch said it was a great ending to Basel’s high school bowling career. It was the highest finish ever by an individual from Rogers City at the state finals.
BASEL QUALIFIED for the top 16 with a score of 1328, placing him in seventh place after the qualifying round. In the round of 16, Basel defeated Curtis Heatherington of St. Ignace. He won 180 to 148 then lost the second game 200-178. Basel won the match in the final game with a score of 224-214. In the round of eight, he defeated Nathan Bauer of the Bay City All Saints. He won the first game 235-215, lost the second 247-227 and then took the match in the final game 187-181.
In the semifinals Basel defeated Murus Oien of Traverse City Saint Francis. Oien is the two-time champion in the Hurons’ region. He was considered a big favorite in the match but Basel dispatched him in two games, 250-183 and 244-213.
THE ROGERS CITY girls’ team defeated East Jackson easily 1820-1699 in the first round of team play. The girls cruised in the match, winning both Baker games 155-138 and 139-138. They also won both regular games 793-721 and 734-727. “The girls bowled a solid match beating the sixth-seeded team. Everyone bowled well, keeping mistakes to a minimum,” said the coach. In the round of eight, the Hurons would bowl eventual state champion Vandercook Lake. The match was close after the Baker games. Rogers City won the first game 157-145 and lost the second 148-132, putting them just four pins behind. Vandercook Lake would prove to be too powerful for the Hurons in the regular games, winning 829-759 and 840-784.
“For the second year in a row, the girls had to play a team that advanced to the championship match. The girls could see the difference between their play and the championship team. With six girls returning from this year’s team, things are looking good for coach Brett Schalk,” said Bannasch.
“BRETT DID an excellent job with these girls. He has a great group of girls returning next year and I am sure they will make another run at the state title,” said Bannasch. Kowalski made it to the top 16 for the second year in a row. She made the qualifying cut by only seven pins. Kowalski rolled a 212 in the final game to make it into the top 16. Kowalski would then draw the eventual state champion, Dee Dee Briggs of Vandercook Lake in her opening match.
Kowalski won the first game 160-158 but Briggs came back to win the next two games 185-152 and 243-211. “Kowalski making the round of 16 was a great accomplishment. Now she knows what she has to work on to make it past this round,” said Ban
ALICIA LAMB had a good start, rolling 511 for her first three games but dropped to 27th place at the end of the qualifying round. The boys’ team lost in the first round 2335-2314 to Vandercook Lake. The team fell 53 pins behind after the two Baker games. The match remained close as Vandercook Lake took the first regular game 993-988. The Hurons mounted a comeback in the second game, winning 972-935 but it was 21 pins short of victory. “This was a disappointing way to end the season as we had a chance to win this match. The low Baker games finally came back to kill us,” said Bannasch.
“We were able to get two freshmen into competition and this will really help in the next few years as they have experienced competition this intense. Basel once again stepped it up even though his thumb was looking pretty raw. He still shot 249 in the first regular game to keep the match close,” he said.