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| "Stashi
gets hot at just the right time" Troy Stashi bowled an 898 series in the Alro Steel Bowling Tournament at Airport Lanes on Sunday-sort of. The near-perfect "series" didn't count in the record book or merit a major award, but it spurred him on to his first victory in the Jackson area's longest and toughest test of bowling skill. While others stumbled and struggled, and a contender was forced out by injury, Stashi overtook Saturday's runaway leader, Andy Schnebelt, and won the title in the final over Frank Trepka, a six-time Alro winner who beat him five years ago in a similar face-off. "When I get to the title match, I plan to just bowl my own game and keep everything else out of my mind," Stashi said after earning the No. 1 seed. He was pitted against another hot bowler in the final. Trepka, who threw 15 strikes in his last 17 shots in the stepladders, started the final with two strikes and a spare. Stashi countered with a strike, a spare and a strike. Stashi said he visualized a close finish. "I knew I had him by one pin," he said. "It was an advantage I wanted to hold on to." Stashi did just that, and more. He fired eight straight strikes, while Trepka converted two spares between a double and a three-bagger. Stashi won the match and the title with ease, 269-235. "Troy is a great bowler," Trepka said. "I just got out-bowled, period. If you get down to him, you're not going to catch him. He's too good." Stashi's first and only title in the two major events for men came in 2001, when he won the Gene Mollitor Memorial Masters. His mother, Sue Hersha, was there for that win before losing her battle with cancer. "She advised me all the time," Stashi said. "The most important thing she ever told me was to take it one frame at a time, and don't let a mistake or a bad break affect your game." Stashi entered Sunday's round in second place, 186 pins behind Schnebelt. He had thrown a 300 game to end Saturday's round, and opened Sunday with a pair of 299s. Since they were the 10th, 11th and 12th games, they would have been a legal series if bowled on the same day. "It would have been nice to have it recognized," Stashi said. "But I'm happy for the win. It's been a long time, and I wanted this one." He followed with games of 218 and 290 and later won the final position round-game against Schnebelt, 235-218. Schnebelt had pulled a muscle in his upper leg earlier in the day and was limping in the position round. He faced Trepka in the semifinal. In pain on every ball, Schnebelt withdrew after throwing a strike in the seventh frame. Top 10 finishers 1.
Troy Stashi 8,239 -- Reach freelance bowling writer Bob Bowen at sports@citpat.com. © 2005 Jackson Citizen Patriot. Used with permission |