INDIANAPOLIS – The USA Bowling National Championships had its first match-play bracket on Thursday night at Woodland Bowl and the finalists for the inaugural title match in the U15 division were determined during exciting matches, four-frame roll-offs and, for one team, a chance for a perfect Baker game.

The Clams, the Upper Great Lakes representative and top-seed Strikers out of the South region were the final teams standing in the U15 division and now will bowl for the title on Saturday at Western Bowl. The best three-out-of-five Baker matches final will be taped for broadcast and will be televised in August on CBS Sports Network.

Thursday’s bracket consisted of best two-out-of-three Baker matches, and the excitement started early as the Clams struck in the first nine frames of their second game. Riley Anfinson stepped up and tossed the first two strikes in the final frame before missing to the right but the Clams had the victory and advanced to the second round.

“I was trying to really not think about a lot, just focus on what I’ve been doing,” Anfinson said. “There’s not really much I can say about that one.”

But the Clams would continue to roll through their side of the bracket, including knocking Heartland regional champion, the Storm, into the losers’ bracket in the third round.

But the Storm roared back to set up a rematch, and returned the favor by topping the Clams to force a final match to determine which team would advance to the final. The Storm bowled out of order in the first game, forcing the team to forfeit the game, then the Clams took a 203-193 victory in Game 2 to claim their spot in the finals.

“It has been a phenomenal tournament and these guys battled real well together,” Clams coach Kurt Balbach said. “These guys have a lot of energy and put a lot into this tournament.”

Also in the opening round, Team Flower Power, the Pacific Southwest champion, and Rocky Mountain Young Guns, the Mountain region winners, battled to a tie in their first game. After splitting Games 2 and 3, a four-frame roll-off was needed to determine which team would advance. Pacific Southwest won the roll-off to move on.

In the third round, Team Flower Power would face No. 1 seed Strikers out of Atlanta. The Strikers knocked Team Flower Power into the losers’ bracket but  Team Flower Power bounced back to set up a rematch.

After dropping the first game of the match that would decide which team would advance to the TV show, the Strikers responded by winning the next two games by scores of 199-178 and 223-195 and now will bowl in the title match.

Tyrell Ingalls, the anchor for the Strikers who finished eighth in U15 qualifying for the Junior Gold Championships presented by Storm, Roto Grip and Master and will bowl the Advancers Round on Friday, said he’s excited for the opportunity to bowl on TV.

“It sounds like fun,” Ingalls said. “Hopefully, if I bowl well tomorrow and a few days later, I will get to bowl (on TV) twice. It sounds exciting to me.”

The U12 division is up next in the USA Bowling Championships. The 16 qualifiers will bowl 15 Baker games Friday morning at All Star Bowl to determine seeds for the double-elimination match-play bracket. All teams will return to All Star Bowl later in the day to determine finalists for the TV show.

Go to BOWL.com/USABowling for more information on the USA Bowling National Championships.

 

The U15 Clams, above from left: Coach Dan Anfinson, Riley Anfinson, Korey Balbach, Nolan Bianchi, Alex Sieberg, coach Kurt Balbach.

 

The Strikers, above from left: Coach Ellen Johnson, Tyrell Ingalls, Faith Hardy, Dawson Stewart, Jhalen Embery, coach Bill Johnson.