Springfield resident rolls two straight 300 games

Frank Rayner

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By Kermit Rowe, Staff Writer 11:57 PM Thursday, November 19, 2009

SPRINGFIELD — A 300 game can be the highlight of a career.

So when bowling one is not even the highlight of the evening, you know something special has happened.

Frank Rayner of Springfield knows the feeling.

He recently bowled back-to-back 300 games as part of a 300-300-235 — 835 series in the Thursday All-Star League at Victory Lanes.

“I can stop bowling tomorrow and I would be happy after something like that,” said Rayner of the rare back-to-back 300s. “It definitely was a surreal experience.

“The last couple years I’ve had to make a few adjustments in my game and hadn’t been bowling as well,” he continued. “Then this year, I made a couple more adjustments and it’s been great.”

Rayner, 40, who carries a 224 average, said someone shot a 199-300-300 last year at Victory, but was told it has only happened five or six times overall.

“There have been some arguments about bowling, with the technology improving so much,” he said. “But at some point, you’ve got to put the ball in the pocket and you have to carry.”

Rayner was living that moment on Nov. 5.

“I was more nervous about the first one than the second because I needed it to win the (league) match,” said Rayner.

After the two 300s, Rayner had a shot at a memorable series with one game to go. But it wasn’t to be.

“It was not much of a cliffhanger,” he said. “The first frame (in the third frame) I hung a four-pin, and I heard a collective sigh.

“It was almost absurd to me,” he continued. “I think that was one of the reasons I wasn’t nervous, because it was too good to be true.”

Rayner still has some goals he wants to reach.

“My next goal, I can honestly say is I’d like to shoot 850 before I hang it up,” he said. “And I need three or four 300s before I break 20. Those are good goals.”

Bowling blind?

Susan Davis and Roberta Havhom combined to win the Springfield 600 Club’s Handicap Blind Doubles Bowling Tournament on Nov. 1. They totaled 1,324, besting runners-up Barbara Fitzwater and Fredica Devine, who had 1,217. Davis and Havholm received $75 and a championship trophy, while Fitzwater and Devine won $50.

The 600 Club’s next event is Feb. 7, 2010, at 1 p.m. at Victory Lanes.

It is an invitational, so it is open to nonmembers. Check your bowling center for details.

Pro Bowling

A PBA Pro-Am will take place at Shamrock Lanes tonight, starting at 5 p.m.

Participants pay $100 for a ticket, then get to bowl with three PBA Tour professionals. They’ll also receive a free Columbia Freeze bowling ball.

Tickets are $50 without the free ball. For more, call (937) 325-2301.

ontact this reporter at (937) 328-0364 or krowe@coxohio.com.

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