Bomber Bowlers are on a Roll!! - By John Corbin
The Bomber girls' bowling team entered the match on Tuesday, December 12th, at Atomic Bowl, hoping to continue their winning streak from the previous three matches. The Bombers faced off at home against a 2-6 Southridge team and came away with another big win to jump-start the regular season's second half. At the night's end, the Bombers improved their record to 7-2 after a strong team performance and an overall score of 1949 pins to 1703. And they improved their winning streak to four in a row!
The Bomber roster put up some big numbers, dominating the first game and out-scoring the Suns 859-654. Senior Malia Haynes was at the top of the pack with a score of 206, including five strikes and five spares. She didn’t leave a single frame open and bowled what was probably one of her best games of the season. Junior Ali Lemieux was close behind with a 197, rolling three strikes early and adding seven spares for a clean sheet. Senior Peyton Gonzalez came in at 182 with four strikes and four spares. Rounding out the Bomber starters, senior Sierra Ruelas scored 138, and sophomore Miley Lakey scored 136. Suns senior Sydney Golden was their top bowler with a score of 199 and an overall game-high total of six strikes, which included two in the tenth frame for an exciting finish. Senior Izzy Batayola competed with a 137, but the rest of the Suns team members couldn’t keep up with the Bombers.
Southridge narrowed the margin quite a bit in game two with improved scores from most of their bowlers, but they still couldn’t overcome Richland with a score of 803-774. Haynes remained on the scoreboard with a 192, but two Suns bowlers were extremely close. Golden and sophomore Maya Ruiz tied at 189, higher than anyone else in the Bomber lineup. Ruiz showed the most improvement on the night, increasing her score from game one to game two by 64 pins. Richland’s Gonzalez bowled another quality game with a score of 173 to help the Bombers find another win. The Bombers didn’t have a single bowler improve in game two, but they stayed consistent and kept fighting until the end. When it came to the Baker games, Richland settled for a split with Southridge. The first Baker game went to the Suns with a close score of 136-131, but the Bombers took the second game with a 156-139 result.
Nate Ruelas has become a regular spectator at the Bomber bowling matches, and he had some positive things to say about standout players on both sides. “Peyton Gonzalez and Malia Haynes were throwing high numbers up on the screen and really helping the team.” For the Suns, “Their anchor bowler (Sydney Golden) was really helping them out. Most were bowling lower scores, and the anchor was helping out definitively.” Ruelas said, “Richland’s biggest strengths are consistency and average scores. They could work on their encouragement. If there was more talking and cheering within teammates and hyping each other up, scores would definitely be even higher.”
After beating the Suns, Peyton Gonzalez shared a few thoughts on her team’s success. “We have a good team, and everyone has done well this season. Ali (Lemieux) has really stood out to me this year. She has bettered herself, and her consistency is perfect every time. We all need to work on things, but she makes sure she perfects every ball.” Gonzalez praised her most improved teammate, “Last year was Miley’s (Lakey) first year on the team, and now she bowls like she’s been bowling for years. She’s really done great this season.”
The Bomber girls are currently ranked third in the Mid-Columbia Conference standings behind an unbeaten Kennewick Lions team and the Kamiakin Braves, their only two losses so far. Richland will still have a chance to redeem themselves against both teams later in the season. Gonzalez shared that she’s looking forward to playing both teams again, “I feel like we could have a really good chance at beating them with how we’re playing recently. We’ve gotten more practice and focused on what we must work on.” Next, the Bombers will travel to Hermiston to take on the Bulldogs, and then they will face Chiawana at Atomic Bowl on December 19th. Come out and support your Bomber bowlers!
