Marsala (right), bowling in his fifth PBA50 Tour tournament, took control after five consecutive strikes in the middle of the title match and sewed up the win with a nine count on his first ball in the 10th frame.

Featured photo from left: manager Angie Colip, John Marsala and host proprietor Dave Small.

Haugen (left), whose second-place finish was enough to win PBA50 Player of the Year, was unable to string strikes until the ninth and 10th frame but by then it was too late.

Marsala won all six of his matches in the final round of match play earlier in the day to earn the top spot for the stepladder finals.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Marsala, who won his first title in topflight competition. “Winning a tournament at this level is something I’ve thought about ever since I was a kid.

“I knew I had to stay relaxed because I had to make sure I kept the ball in play,” the 55-year-old left-hander said of the title match. “I just had the attitude that win or lose, this tournament was a win for me. It was beyond my expectations.”

Haugen, the only two-time winner this season, also has two second-place and two third-place finishes which helped him take the player of the year crown.

The 51-year-old Haugen had to work hard for his runner-up finish earning the last position in the cashers’ round and then advanced through two match play rounds to earn the No. 2 qualifying position for the finals.

“To win player of the year was a goal but you never know when it’s going to happen,” said the 2017 PBA50 Rookie of the Year. “As the season went on the confidence was building especially after my second win but all you can do is believe in yourself and hope good things will happen.

“Like I often say; wash, rinse and repeat,” Haugen added. “My goal is to keep it simple because it puts me in the best position to make the right adjustments and ball choices. I knew if I kept making shows I’d have a good shot at player of the year so I guess the formula worked.”

In the opening stepladder match between two of PBA’s all-time greats, Parker Bohn III (right) of Jackson, N.J., beat fellow PBA Hall of Famer and 11-time PBA50 Tour winner Walter Ray Williams Jr. (left) of Oxford, Fla., when he won a one-frame roll-off, 10-9, after tying the match 247-247.

In the second match, Bohn, a four-time PBA50 Tour titlist, defeated seven-time PBA Tour winner Steve Jaros (right) of Yorkville, Ill., 279-241, to advance to the semifinal where he lost to Haugen, 257-178.

The PBA50 Tour regular season concludes with the season’s final major when Spectrum Lanes in Wyoming, Mich., hosts the PBA50 Cup presented by DV8 Aug. 9-12.

Fans can catch all the action on PBA’s online bowling channel PBA Xtra Frame on FloBowling. For subscription and schedule information click here.

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2018 PBA50 Tour Schedule & Champions

PBA50 Dave Small’s Championship Lanes Classic – Stepladder Finals

Dave Small’s Championship Lanes in Anderson, Ind., United States (Aug. 4-7, 2018)

Championship Round:
1, John Marsala, St. Louis, 224 (1 game), $7,500
2, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 475 (2 games), $4,000
3, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 704 (3 games), $2,500
4, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 241 (1 game), $2,000
5, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla. 247 (1 game), $1,750

Playoff Results:
First Match: No. 5 Bohn def. No 4 Williams, 10-9 in roll-off after a 247-247 tie
Second Match. Bohn def. Jaros, 279-241
Semifinal Match: No. 2 Haugen def. Bohn, 257-178
Championship Match: No. 1 Marsala def. Haugen, 224-218.

PBA50 Dave Small’s Championship Lanes Classic – Modified Match Play Round 2

Players with position, hometown and 6-game total, including match play bonus pins. Top five advance to stepladder finals. ss-PBA60 player ages 60 and older.

1, John Marsala, St. Louis, Mo., 6-0, 1,701
2, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 5-1, 1,618
3, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 3-3, 1,613
4, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 4-2, 1,577
5, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3-3, 1,575

Missed Cut:
6, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 3-3, 1,520, $1,500
7, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 4-2, 1,515, $1,500
8, Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., 4-2, 1,509, $1,500
9, Eddie Graham, Kettering, Ohio, 3-3, 1,496, $1,250
10, Doug Henry, Columbus, Ind., 2-3-1, 1,446, $1,250
11, Kevin Duncan, Mexico, Mo., 3-3, 1,441, $1,250
12, ss-Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 1-4-1, 1,431, $1,250
13, ss-Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 1-5, 1,354, $1,250
14, ss-David Axon, Bellevue, Neb., 2-4, 1,348, $1,250
15, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 2-4, 1,320, $1,250
16, Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., 1-5, 1,307, $1,250

Modified Match Play Round 1 (after five games, including match play bonus pins)
17, Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., 2-3, 1,228, $1,100
18, Rolando Sebelen, Dominican Republic, 3-2, 1,190, $1,100
19, Stoney Baker, Canton, Ga., 2-3, 1,179, $1,100
20, ss-Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 2-3, 1,157, $1,100
21, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 3-2, 1,153, $1,100
22, ss-Christopher Keane, Cape Coral, Fla., 2-3, 1,098, $1,100
23, ss-Tom Carter, Columbus, Ohio, 1-4, 1,086, $1,100
24, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 1-4, 942, $1,100

Other Cashers (after five-game cashers’ round)
25, Danny Clark, New Palestine, Ind., 1,124, $1,000
26, ss-Marty Berke, Allentown, Pa., 1,099, $1,000
27, Chris Gibbons, Madison, Wis., 1,094, $1,000
28, ss-Gary Reh, Fort Mohave, Ariz., 1,064, $1,000
29, ss-Charlie Tapp, Kalamazoo, Mich., 1,047, $1,100
30, ss-Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., 1,041, $1,000
31, n, ss-Julius Mickel, Omaha, Neb., 1,029, $1,000
32, ss-John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., 1,024, $1,000
33, ss-Warren Nelson, Hemet, Calif., 1,016, $1,000
34, ss-Paul Mielens, Menomonie, Wis., 1,012, $1,000
35, ss-Tom Baker, King, N.C., 1,007, $1,000
36, ss-Ron Profitt, Brookville, Ohio, 697, $1,000