Lions Strike Win Against Bombers - By Dina Reyes
The Richland girls' bowling team played amazingly in their November 28th match, winning both the second and Baker games. Unfortunately, though, they lost the overall match by a matter of a few points due to the fact that the Lions bowled a high number of points during the first game. Luckily, the girl's spirit before and after the game was matched, and they are now ready to take that spirit on to the next game, bringing the Bombers a win.
The lineup for varsity starters includes Peyton Gonzalez, Ryka Schirm, Miley Lakey, Malia Haynes, and Ali LeMieux. Bowling matches are different than other sports because of the amount of energy in a compact area. The energy inside the bowling alley is filled in every lane with cheers coming from the players, coaches and spectators that are crowded watching. Two full games are played, and then two Baker games are played. The winner of the match is determined by the total amount of points that are added up from all four of the matches. The Baker games aren´t like regular games where each player gets a row on the screen and ten turns total. The Baker games are speed games where five bowlers take turns in ten frames. These games are usually more intense because the players are now trying to make up points that the team will need to win the match and beat the other team's score.
Beginning with the first game of the match, which was the downfall of the match, the Bombers scored a total of 739 points. The high scorer of this match was the one and only Malia Haynes. Malia is a senior at Richland and has been playing on the bowling team since freshman year. Malia had a few words to say regarding the game. When asked if she recommended it to other students, she believes that others should. ¨I would say it´s something fun to do in your free time and a good way to get involved in the school.¨
Back to the first game score, Kennewick had a total of 876, with their highest-scoring player getting 193. This made Kennewick get ahead and lead with 137 more points than Richland. The second game was a win from Richland with a total score of 832. Once again, Malia Haynes took the lead with 194, although the other team members did amazing. Peyton Gonzalez rolled 145, Ryka Schirm 151, Miley Lakey 172, and Ali LeMieux 170. Kennewick had a total of 815, where their highest bowler rolled 203 points. Now, introducing the baker games. The games where they can get lost points back. The girls now need 120 points to catch up. As the girls took turns bowling, the girls did an amazing job with 4 strikes total and 5 spares, making the total 168. The Kennewick Lions only got 3 strikes and 5 spares. Even though the Lions got 165 with 3 points less than Richland, that also means 3 fewer points needed to be made up. Lastly, the most important game of the night is the fourth baker game. Ending off, Kennewick had 147, and Richland had 155. Unfortunately, we were not able to bounce back and get the rest of the points needed to beat the Lions, but we were close, with only a few points separating us from the win. To continue with Malia's interview, she talked about the chemistry of the team. ¨We have amazing chemistry, and we share so much laughter.¨ The team and the bowlers can laugh and pick themselves up from a loss, creating a good energy that will travel to the next match. The coach of the bowling team and a Richland math teacher, Jason Bare, also had a few words to add. ¨I started bowling when I was in 8th grade, and I have been bowling ever since.¨ In preparation for the match, ¨I made sure that all the little things got taken care of, like getting schedules printed, jerseys handed out, and drills that we needed to run during practices.¨ Just like Malia, he would also recommend bowling to other students. ¨It is one of the easiest sports to join. There are no minimum practice requirements, and we can have fun at the same time.¨
Although they lost this match, Richland has had a great season so far. They are playing their fifth, and the current record is 3-1 heading into this match. This is one of the most competitive games of the season, being that Kennewick is the biggest rival. The Bombers played up to that level, keeping the audience on their toes. With such a close game, they are ready for the next match against Kennewick in January on the 11th at Richland. Good job, Bombers!!
