2/6 Beast Ball Resurrected

What a difference a week makes!  So last week at Wednesday Night Ladies League, I bowled at my 130 average and was pondering on my potential need to resurrect my old Beast Ball DV8 Misfit, which was a beast on medium oil league conditions over the summer.  In the meantime, I did not do too bad with my good ole Spinderella Ebonite Cyclone at my unsanctioned Friday night league (please see my BowlStar Blog), where I could not maintain a 162 ("ridicurous") average but was happy to bowl a 431 series, dropping to a (I'll take it!) 153 average = we're a BowlStar, baby!  Not too shabby....


Beast Ball Resurrected!

Saturday had me driving over to Pottstown to see my pro shop professional and unofficial/future coach Donna Roberts.  She had succeeded in resurrecting my Beast Ball, my magenta and yellow (neon bright!) DV8 Misfit, to a shiny like-new condition, except for a few black marks from my see saw which were too deep to be erased.  I could not wait to throw my old friend down the lanes - it is, after all, my first fingertip ball, my first 11-lb ball, and I love and hate the darn thing but had high hopes for its return.  But since Saturday was earmarked for (finally) taking down my Christmas decorations (yup, shameful to still have them up so close to Valentine's Day...), the lanes had to wait.

But bright and early Sunday morning (darn, it was hard to get out of bed....), i got 4 practice games in at the Palace between 10-11 am, after shovelling the dusting of snow on my driveway.  Oooh, I was loving up my Beast Ball again, and was now torn between my Beast and my Spinderella (twin ball to Ann Marie's) which has served me well these past months.  I also resurrected my original 10-lb spare ball, which I now call Pinky (as in Pinky and the Brain...), and did well with spares with her at Sunday practice.  Hmmm, three balls: it was going to be a workout just hauling these to the lanes.  I remembered to wrap Beastie in a white towel in my bowling bag (diaper!) to prevent any further color bleed that may beast it up even more, the little sponge....

Tonight at Wednesday Night Ladies League, the Scatterpins were up against the formidable Pathetics.  Our lineup had Sadie, me, Ann Marie (missed you last week, girl! glad you are back!) and Ruth.  It was Sherry, Angela's prebowl, Anjeanette subbing for Barb, and Mary Anne for the Pathetics.  Both Ann Marie and Ruth apparently had stellar nights at Monday league, but Mary Ann and Angela have two of the three highest averages in the league, and Sherry had been playing well, so we were in for a fight. 

And boy, did we FIGHT!  We got our groove quickly in the first game, all of us playing above our averages.  Looking good...  We continued playing even better in the second game, which we needed to do since the Pathetics were starting to make their marks.  Got two games down.  It was neck and neck in the third game, and the scratch score looked like the Pathetics won it, but with our handicap added in, we actually swept the Pathetics 4-0.  Way to go, Scatterpins!  I am so proud and happy of how we played.  Sweet Sadie hang in there, struggling in the 2nd and 3rd game but fighting for each pin.  I am so very proud of her, she did not give up!  Ann Marie was a super red hot mama, with a 466 series and all scores above her average.  Shall I say I told you so, my bowling angel with my Spinderella's twin sister?  I knew your breakthrough moment would come, Donna would be so proud of you as well!  And Ruth had a 530+ series, and a 200 game, well on her way to having one of the highest averages in our league. 

It was fun playing the Pathetics, as always, too bad we missed Angela tonight.  Sherry is always a hoot, but the pins were just not falling her way tonight.  Anjeanette ended strong with a turkey, and fought hard for every mark - glad you could join us!  Mary Ann is always a strong competitor, giving us a run for our money. 

Ruth almost got a "6-pack" from all of us missing our 5-pin spares = in the end she only had a "5-pack" coz the last 5-pin spare was one of hers, and she wanted the spare more than the 6-pack...too funny!  Glad you got the spare instead!

Dear Shirley was back from Florida and I did not recognize her with her lovely shorter do.  She had her long hair shorn for Locks of Love, such an awesome cause, and such an amazing and wonderful woman!

So in the end, my Beast Ball delivered for me, giving me games of 156, 172 and 148 for an average of 158 and a 476 series.  It is my best ever performance at Wednesday Night Fall League and will increase my league average to 132.  My Pinky Poo spare ball messed with my brain and let me down, I could not hit the 10-pin with it somehow tonight.  But I was hitting the 10-pin with Beast Ball more than 50% of the time, something to continue to work on, for sure.  I did switch to Spinderella in the middle of the 3rd game, when I got tired of open frames with ole Beastie hooking more in the changing lanes.  I got a double with Spinderella but then kept missing my spares with it, and so switched back to Beast Ball for the final frame and was able to get 19 pins for a good finish. 

I am really encouraged by my performance, but also wonder if my luck was brought about by my lucky "disco ball" bowling earrings which I had gotten from my last cruise.  I had been wearing them to my Friday Filipino league and wore them tonight too.  Nah...they are sparkly, but not a factor, except in my brain.  It most probably is a combination of my hard work and regular practice paying off, my confidence increasing (got a good boost from my visit to Donna!), my team playing so well and being so supportive, and my Beast Ball delivering for me.  Whatever the magic is, I feel blessed to be under its power.  This normally happy girl is super happy tonight, and looking forward to even more happy times on the lanes. 

Here is a picture of me bowling last Friday.  Notice the brace on my knee and elbow = I am falling apart!  Thank goodness for McNeil drugs (Motrin and Tylenol).  I need to take care of myself so I can continue to bowl into my golden years.


Bowl happy, folks, and see you at the lanes!