After suffering through the worst game of the tournament, 900 Global (pictured left) and its Hall of Fame anchor bowler Walter Ray Williams Jr. (right) rallied to hand Brunswick its first loss in the Professional Bowlers Association's GEICO Team Shootout hosted by Six Flags.

Team 900 Global - L-R Steve Jaros, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Michael Haugen Jr. (AMF), Robert Smith and Brian Voss (AMF).

Matches seven, eight, nine and 10 of 12 scheduled Baker scoring system round-robin team matches aired Sunday on ESPN.

In Baker team bowling, each member of a five-player team bowls two frames to complete a full game. In the GEICO Team Shootout, an "endless 10th frame" bonus feature allows a team to extend its 10th frame as long as it can continue to throw strikes. The entire series, consisting of six head-to-head matches between each team plus a three-match stepladder final, was conducted outdoors on specially-constructed lanes on the grounds of Six Flags Great Adventure.

In the opening match of the fourth round of matches, 900 Global tried a defensive strategy, selecting the tricky Viper lane condition in an effort to slow down the high-powered Ebonite International (pictured right) attack.

Team Ebonite International - L-R Mike Fagan (Track), Jason Couch (Ebonite), Chris Barnes (Columbia 300), Mike Scroggins (Ebonite), Tommy Jones (Ebonite) and Bill O'Neill (Hammer).

The strategy backfired, however, when Columbia 300 star Chris Barnes (pictured left), bowling anchor for the Ebonite family of bowling ball brands, threw a pair of key strikes that resulted in doubles. Ebonite International cruised to a 189-139 victory because 900 Global had only one strike the entire game (by Michael Haugen Jr.) and suffered through four open frames.

"We picked the Viper on the same left lane we had won on against Storm in an earlier round, and we only had one guy hit the pocket the whole game," 900 Global anchor bowler Walter Ray Williams Jr. said. "We had no idea what was going on. The lane was hooking way more than the first time and we never did figure it out."

Brunswick then extended its unbeaten streak to four games, running away from Storm Products on the Viper pattern, 206-178. Brunswick got three strikes in a row from Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Brad Angelo and Sean Rash to take a 38-pin lead heading into Storm's final frame. Rhino Page threw three strikes in the 10th to close the gap and his give team a chance to rally in the "endless 10th frame," but Brian Kretzer left a 4 pin to end the charge.

In Match Nine, Storm (pictured left) again selected the Viper pattern, and used it successfully to nip Ebonite, 211-200.

Team Storm - L-R Rhino Page (Storm), Jason Belmonte (Storm), Wes Malott (Roto Grip), Brian Kretzer (Roto Grip), Pete Weber (Storm) and Norm Duke (Storm).

"It seemed like we were beating us on every pattern," Storm's Norm Duke (right) said. "What we needed was a victory and something good to happen. That extended 10th…we couldn't do it We finally realized we had to be more stable with our lineup to get a feel for how much a lane was going to break down under those outdoor conditions. When you change lineups, it confuses how everyone breaks down the lane and how to read what's going on. Previously, we tried to set lineup based on how guys liked a certain pattern, and who we were bowling and it wasn't working."

In Match 10, 900 Global (pictured left: Michael Haugen Jr.) changed the complexion of the contest, selecting the Cheetah pattern for the first time in the competition and riding the typically high-scoring lane condition to a 207-166 victory over Brunswick (pictured right). The victorious team put together a turkey and two doubles while Brunswick failed to convert three consecutive splits early in the contest en route to its first loss of the tournament.

Team Brunswick - L-R Johnny Petraglia, Parker Bohn III, Sean Rash, Brad Angelo, Pro Tour Consultant Chuck Gardner with Carolyn Dorin-Ballard.

"We were having very little success with any of the patterns," Williams said. "The other teams were making us bowl on the long patterns and we weren't doing so well, so we decided to go with the short pattern (Cheetah), and we shot a 200 game and won by 40 pins. It was pretty amazing. Bowling outdoors, the conditions played so different than what you're used to…"

After five rounds, Brunswick clinched the top position for the stepladder finals with a 4-1 record while each of the other three teams stood at 2-3.

GEICO Team Shootout telecasts will conclude on ESPN on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Eastern with the final round of head-to-head matches followed by the four-team stepladder finals.

 

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GEICO PBA Team Shootout - Part Three

Baker scoring system team competition; five bowlers bowl two frames each to complete one full game

Match Seven – Ebonite International def. 900 Global, 189-139
Match Eight – Brunswick def. Storm Products, 206-178
Match Nine – Storm Products def. Ebonite International, 211-200
Match 10 – 900 Global def. Brunswick, 207-166

Manufacturers' Cup Standings
Brunswick, 4-1
Storm Products, 2-3
900 Global, 2-3
Ebonite International, 2-3