Late fireworks save Moses Lake

Chiefs rally to earn a split with division-leading Wenatchee

If only the Chiefs could have put up their final frame throughout the match.

Down two games to one in the crucial Central Washington varsity bowling league game, the Chiefs entered the final frame tied with the division-leading Wenatchee Panthers at 117 apiece.

What to do?

Give it to Berlyn Davis, the bowler tied for the league's highest average, and forget about how she played in the match up to that point.

"In a one-shot situation, I'd take her over anyone," said Moses Lake head coach Billy Brice.

For good reason. Davis threw three consecutive strikes against Wenatchee's top bowler, giving the second-place Chiefs the game, 147-137, and keeping her team from losing ground to the Panthers.

The Chiefs played from behind in the first two games due to too many frames left open.

"We work hard on spares," he said. "The strikes will come, but if you pick up your spares, you're ahead of the game."

The Chiefs didn't pick up their spares nor either game.

Moses Lake were buoyed by consistent play from Emily Ozolins, who caught 10 spares and four strikes, and Dawne Drummond, who rolled a 176 in the first game.

The Chiefs did not play to their potential, Brice said, but neither did Wenatchee, and the Chiefs were able to top the Panthers in the first baker game on the strength of two strikes from Melissa Threadgill.

In the final game, the Chiefs kept close thanks to spares by Danielle Hofstetter and tied it on Drummond's spare, before Davis finished the Panthers off.

"To get away with a split is pretty lucky," Brice said. "At least they didn't come into our house at whack us. A split is a split, but we were looking to pull away. We don't lose anything, we don't gain anything. "

With the split, the Chiefs move to 15-9, keeping them in second place behind Wenatchee's 18-6 record.

Brice said he plans to shuffle his lineup, hoping to get better performance out of his team.

"(Junior varsity players) deserve a chance to see what they can do on a varsity level," he said.

As for Davis, Brice said that is the fourth time she has bowled a turkey in the final frame for a win, but he said he wants to see more consistency out of her and the others.

"She matched that girl strike for strike," Brice said. "I wish she would keep that one-shot mentality."