Bombers Spare No Opportunities in Win Against Blue Devils - By John Corbin
The Bomber Girls Varsity Bowling team improved their overall record to 4-2 with an impressive win against Walla Walla on Thursday, November 30th, at Atomic Bowl. The girls brought the energy and bounced back after a tough loss to Kennewick on Tuesday night. From the first frame to the last, it was clear they came to win the match with a final score of 1903-1783.
Bomber varsity starters included seniors Peyton Gonzalez, Ryka Schirm, Sierra Ruelas, Malia Haynes, and junior Ali LeMieux. The Bomber girls took the first game with a close score of 842-827. LeMieux dominated with a score of 212 and an astounding six strikes and three spares, completing a turkey in frames five through seven and adding another strike in frame eight to make it four in a row. Haynes scored 182 with four strikes and four spares, including a clutch spare in the ninth frame and another spare in the tenth. Gonzalez scored 168, only leaving one frame open through the first eight. Ruelas scored 149, and Schirm scored 131. Ruelas rolled two strikes and four spares in the game. Schirm capitalized on a tough 6-4 spare in the fifth frame and finished with a strike in the ninth and tenth. Blue Devils senior Jalen Herrera had a very strong first game with a total score of 178. Her game was made up of five spares along with three strikes while leaving only two frames open, both following a spare. Despite Herrera’s terrific game, she did not lead Walla Walla’s first game scoring. Walla Walla senior Lauren Williams finished with a score of 182 and a turkey in frames four through six. Williams ended with an incredible five strikes and three spares.
Despite the Blue Devils making the first game a very close one, only losing by fifteen total points, their lineup full of seniors could not make the second game quite as close. Not a single Walla Walla bowler improved on their score from the first game. This did not bode well for them because they ended up losing this game by a much more significant margin than the first game, with a final score of 735-658. Although this was a rather rough game for the Blue Devils, Lauren Williams still put up an impressive score of 164 made up of seven total spares, including a sequence of four spares, which all started with a first bowl of nine pins. Williams was a couple of tough breaks away from a potential 200-game and finished with an average of 173 in her first two games. The Bombers' game was a little different from the Blue Devils', with at least one of their bowlers improving from game one to game two. That bowler was senior Ryka Schirm, who improved her score from 131 to 135. Schirm had a solid day with five spares and four strikes between the first two games. Malia Haynes could not improve her score, but she bowled another superb game with a final score of 171, even after starting with three bad breaks. Malia pushed through those first three frames and ended up only leaving one more frame open and closing six with four strikes and two spares. Her perseverance helped her conclude with an average of 176.5 in her first two games.
Spectator Colson Mackey was excited to witness his first Bomber bowling match, and he had this to say when asked how he thought the Bombers performed: “I believe Richland bowled well all day, they had multiple impressive scores from their bowlers and often eliminated the need for closing a spare by starting a lot of frames off with ten pins down.” Mackey went on to say that he noticed a crucial performer for the Bombers, “Malia Haynes was Richland’s rock in the first two games, putting up consistently high scores.”
Following tonight's strong performance, Bombers’ Malia Haynes had some positive things to say about some standout players on the roster, “Ali LeMieux and Miley Lakey have both stood out to me so far this season, both putting up some high-scoring matches.” Looking into the future of her season, Malia has her eyes set on getting some critical wins against good teams, “I hope we can beat Kamiakin and Kennewick at least once this season.”
In the end, the Bombers gave up the first Baker game to the Blue Devils with a close score of 167-174 but wrapped up the night by taking the second Baker Game 159-124. The girls fought hard throughout the match and celebrated another team win. Next up, the Bombers face the Pasco Bulldogs on December 5th at Atomic Bowl. After tonight’s well-rounded performance, they are definitely ready! Go Bombers!
