PBA Spare Shots

PBA PLAYER OF THE YEAR KOIVUNIEMI TO THROW OUT FIRST PITCH AT CUBS GAME
PBA Player of the Year Mika Koivuniemi will throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Memorial Day game between the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs at historic Wrigley Field in Chicago. PBA stars in town to compete in the GEICO PBA Team Shootout at 10pin bowling lounge May 29-June 1 will be in attendance at the Cubs’ game.

It could be interesting: Koivuniemi, who competed in hockey, basketball and soccer while growing up in his native Finland, admits he has never before thrown a baseball.

Chicago area bowling fans are invited to attend the GEICO PBA Team Shootout competition at 10pin bowling lounge in the Marina City complex at no cost. Shows will be taped for delayed telecast on ESPN on Tuesday from 1-3 and 5-10 p.m., and on Wednesday from 1-3 and 5-9 p.m. ESPN telecasts will begin airing on Saturday, June 25, at 11 a.m. CT.

REGIONAL PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP-EAST SET FOR MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
Professional Bowlers Association regional players from across the nation will gather at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich., over Memorial Day weekend for the PBA Regional Players Championship-East, the first “major” championship on the 2011 PBA Regional schedule.

The RPC-East, with a $7,500 first prize and an elite field berth in the 2012 PBA Tournament of Champions at stake, gets underway with eight-game qualifying rounds for A and B squads Saturday, May 28, at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET. The squads will reversed positions for Sunday’s second eight-game rounds, after which the top 32 competitors will advance to single-elimination match play rounds on Monday.

PBA Central Regional member Riga Kalfas of Florence, Ky., is defending RPC-East champion.

The final block of qualifying Sunday and Monday’s complete schedule of match play rounds will be webcast live on pba.com’s exclusive Xtra Frame video streaming service. To subscribe to Xtra Frame, visit pba.com.

Also on tap over Memorial Day weekend will be back-to-back one-day PBA Midwest/Central Region senior events, sponsored by Aaron Wehmeyer Allstate Insurance, at Joliet Town and Country Lanes. For entry information, click on “regional tours” under the “schedules” drop-down menu on pba.com.

KRETZER WINS 14TH REGIONAL TITLE IN WOOSTER, OHIO
Brian Kretzer of Kettering, Ohio, defeated Joe Ciccone of Buffalo, N.Y. by 149 pins to win his 14th career PBA Regional title in the PBA Central Region’s J.D. Producing, Inc./Wayne Lanes/Pizza Pan Open in Wooster, Ohio, on May 22. Kretzer finished with an 8-4 match play record and a total of 4,907 pins for 20 games, including match play bonus pins, to win the $2,600 first prize. Ryan Ciminelli finished third, 43 pins behind Ciccone.

Jason Cornog of Cherry Hill, N.J., an 18-year-old high school senior and non-member, defeated Joe Stillman of Staten Island, N.Y., 236-203, to win the PBA East Region Long Island Non-Champions Open at AMF Bay Shore Lanes in Bay Shore, N.Y., on May 21. Because Cornog is not a PBA member, he will not be credited with a PBA title. Cornog earned $1,500.

In the PBA Midwest, Jason Poli of West Des Moines, Iowa, won four straight stepladder matches, defeating Dave Beres of Waukesha, Wis., 233-208, in the championship match to win his third PBA Regional title in the Midco Open sponsored by Midcontinent Communications at Empire Bowl in Sioux Falls, S.D., on May 22, Poli earned $2,500.

Poli started the stepladder finals with a 212-159 victory over former two-time Junior Team USA member Cassandra Leuthold of Black Hawk, S.D. He then eliminated Glen Paulsen of Sioux Falls, 203-197, and Matt Smallin of Minot, N.D., 192-159, to advance to the championship match.

Mark Scroggins of Canyon, Texas, topped William Sullivan of Austin, Texas, 263-246, to win the PBA Southwest Region Fort Sill Open at Twin Oaks Bowling Center in Fort Sill, Okla. Along with the $2,500 first prize, Scroggins claimed his 11th career PBA Regional title. For Sullivan, the runner-up finish was his highest ever in PBA Southwest competition.

Wayne Garber of Modesto, Calif., defeated PJ Haggerty of Roseville, Calif., 224-218, to win his eighth PBA West Region title in the Battle at Black Oak Casino in Tuolumne, Calif., on May 22. Garber won $2,500.

LAST CALL: BILLY WELU SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS DUE MAY 31
Applications for the PBA’s 2011 Billy Welu Scholarship, awarded annually to a male or female college student who competes in the sport of bowling and exhibits exemplary qualities as a student and citizen, must be postmarked by midnight, Tuesday, May 31. Candidates must be amateur bowlers who are currently in college (preceding the application deadline) and maintain at least a 2.5/4.0 GPA or equivalent.

The scholarship winner receives a $1,000 award. To access the application form, click on this link:
http://www.pba.com/file_upload/scholarships/BillyWeluApplication.pdf

QUICK NOTES:
England’s Rob Thurlby won the European Bowling Tour’s Istanbul Open on May 15 in Istanbul, Turkey, defeating British teammate Paul Moor and PBA Player of the Year Mika Koivuniemi on his way to the title. Thurlby bounced Koivuniemi in the two-game semifinal match, 426-400, and then eliminated Moor in the title match, 393-386.