IWAKUNI, Japan - Tiger’s Blood clawed its way through Blood Thirsty, and Blowfish and Hootie during the 2011 Bowling Tournament at The Strike Zone here July 2.
The tournament was set in best-of-three games format. Each team bowled simultaneously during each game. The team, which had the highest combined score won the tournament.
“The teams that played were very competitive,” said Richard G. Redick, the Marine Corps community services intramural sports coordinator. “The players were knocking those pins down right from the start.”
James S. Harden III, a Blood Thirsty bowler, started strong with a spare. Timothy M. King, a Blowfish and Hootie bowler, fired back with a spare of his own.
Meanwhile, Darrin W. Sellers, a Tiger’s Blood bowler, kept the game rolling with a strike. He went on to bowl four more strikes, ending the first game with the highest score of 171.
However, winning this tournament required more than one person to perform well. It was the Blowfish and Hootie bowlers who took the first game with a combined team score of 518, edging out Tiger’s Blood’s 516 and Blood Thirsty’s 442 averages.
“We saw our opportunity to get ahead,” said Steven E. Reagan, a Tiger’s Blood bowler. “We really started to make those pins cry.”
Reagan, Samuel L. Operle and Peter A. Lawson, Tiger’s Blood bowlers, opened the second game strong by bowling strikes.
Michael A. Ledyard and Donald A. Baker, Blowfish and Hootie bowlers, went on to bowl two strikes each ending the second game with a team score of 565.
Blood Thirsty smashed its competition in the second game. Harden and Alexander R. McCaffrey, Blood Thirsty bowlers, bowled four strikes. Nelson P. Chavez, a Blood Thirsty bowler, lead his team by bowling five strikes, ending the second game with a 591 school.
Blowfish and Hootie’s lead was short-lived.
“We got lazy after the second game,” Ledyard said. “That really hurt us going into the third game.”
During the third game each player only bowled one strike. Harden kept Blood Thirsty alive with three strikes throughout the third game. He only scored a 125.
Tiger’s Blood piled on the pain with each player exceeding the other.
Lawson bowled two strikes, Operle bowled three, while Sellers and Reagan each bowled four. Their heavy hitting scores would bring Tiger’s Blood score to 639, which dwarfed Blood Thirsty, and Blowfish and Hootie’s scores of 467 and 487 respectively.
After the scores were added up, Redick handed out prizes and trophies to the teams.
“We make it so that everyone who participates leaves with something in their hands,” Redick said.
The Strike Zone gave free games to the players who were able to get strikes whenever red-headed pins appeared on their screens.
After the teams received their prizes, Redick announced Reagan as the most valuable player of the tournament. Reagan was on the winning team and improved his score exponentially throughout the tournament.
His game started slow with an score of 109 but quickly leaped ahead with 145 in the second game and by the end of the third game his score rocketed to 187.
“I just bowled the best I could, and we came out on top,” Reagan said. “This tournament was really fun. I cannot wait to sign up for the next one.”
The 2011 Bowling Tournament proved to be an exciting bonding experience for the Marines and sailors who participated.