Local Bowlers Set State Record
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Local Bowlers Set State Record
By Dale [email protected]
But on May 3, in the doubles competition of the United States Bowling Congress Indiana State Tournament at Stardust Bowl II in Merrillville, the 47-year-old Warsaw resident rolled back-to-back 300 games.
And with his three-game score of 859, coupled with Syracuse resident Dennis McCarthy's total of 748, the local duo not only won the state title with a score of 1,607, but beat the previous doubles state record by 56 pins.[[In-content Ad]]"To bowl a 300 at the state tournament, I don't know if I'll ever be in that position again," said Ransbottom. "They told me that in the 99 years of the state tournament, nobody has ever bowled back-to-back 300 games. I'm very humbled by it. Everything just fit. What made it so special was that we won the doubles state tournament and broke the state record. And we did it together, it wasn't just me. Dennis bowled a great series, too."
Ransbottom, who has coached the Warsaw Community High School club team the past seven years, rolled a 259 in his first game, picking up spares in the third and fifth frames.
He finished his first game with seven straight strikes, meaning he concluded his three-game series with 31 consecutive strikes.
"Everything fit," said Ransbottom when asked what it felt like to be in that place that athletes call the zone. "It was that one time where everything just fit. It was awesome. It's hard to describe. This state title means a lot. To have everything click like that, it was just the right day and the right time."
En route to his 748 series, the 57-year-old McCarthy bowled games of 225, 265 and 258.
"To do it at the state tournament, that's what made it so special," said McCarthy. "I've bowled since I was 10, and winning the state tournament and breaking the state record is by far the coolest thing in my career."
With his performance in the state tournament, Ransbottom has now bowled 31 perfect games in his career, accomplishing the feat in six different bowling alleys.
He began bowling when he was 14, and bowled his first perfect game when he 18.
"Fred Gilliam used to tell me 'this game is easy when you're bowling good,'" said Ransbottom, who graduated from Warsaw Community High School in 1980.
On that Sunday in the state tournament, the game seemed easy.
And the interesting thing is, Ransbottom and McCarthy were partnered together by accident, literally.
At the state tournament, each person bowls nine games - competing individually, as a doubles team, and with a five-person team.
When Robert Hostetler, who was slated to be McCarthy's partner, suffered a recent foot injury, team captain Andy Kiser asked Ransbottom to take his place.
Kiser obviously asked the right guy to fill in, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Also competing in the five-man team competition were Dave Glass and Terry Winninger.
"It was just meant to be," said Ransbottom. "I've known Dennis since the early 1980s. We've bowled in a lot of leagues together, but we had never bowled on a doubles team together. It was just one of those things that was meant to be."
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But on May 3, in the doubles competition of the United States Bowling Congress Indiana State Tournament at Stardust Bowl II in Merrillville, the 47-year-old Warsaw resident rolled back-to-back 300 games.
And with his three-game score of 859, coupled with Syracuse resident Dennis McCarthy's total of 748, the local duo not only won the state title with a score of 1,607, but beat the previous doubles state record by 56 pins.[[In-content Ad]]"To bowl a 300 at the state tournament, I don't know if I'll ever be in that position again," said Ransbottom. "They told me that in the 99 years of the state tournament, nobody has ever bowled back-to-back 300 games. I'm very humbled by it. Everything just fit. What made it so special was that we won the doubles state tournament and broke the state record. And we did it together, it wasn't just me. Dennis bowled a great series, too."
Ransbottom, who has coached the Warsaw Community High School club team the past seven years, rolled a 259 in his first game, picking up spares in the third and fifth frames.
He finished his first game with seven straight strikes, meaning he concluded his three-game series with 31 consecutive strikes.
"Everything fit," said Ransbottom when asked what it felt like to be in that place that athletes call the zone. "It was that one time where everything just fit. It was awesome. It's hard to describe. This state title means a lot. To have everything click like that, it was just the right day and the right time."
En route to his 748 series, the 57-year-old McCarthy bowled games of 225, 265 and 258.
"To do it at the state tournament, that's what made it so special," said McCarthy. "I've bowled since I was 10, and winning the state tournament and breaking the state record is by far the coolest thing in my career."
With his performance in the state tournament, Ransbottom has now bowled 31 perfect games in his career, accomplishing the feat in six different bowling alleys.
He began bowling when he was 14, and bowled his first perfect game when he 18.
"Fred Gilliam used to tell me 'this game is easy when you're bowling good,'" said Ransbottom, who graduated from Warsaw Community High School in 1980.
On that Sunday in the state tournament, the game seemed easy.
And the interesting thing is, Ransbottom and McCarthy were partnered together by accident, literally.
At the state tournament, each person bowls nine games - competing individually, as a doubles team, and with a five-person team.
When Robert Hostetler, who was slated to be McCarthy's partner, suffered a recent foot injury, team captain Andy Kiser asked Ransbottom to take his place.
Kiser obviously asked the right guy to fill in, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Also competing in the five-man team competition were Dave Glass and Terry Winninger.
"It was just meant to be," said Ransbottom. "I've known Dennis since the early 1980s. We've bowled in a lot of leagues together, but we had never bowled on a doubles team together. It was just one of those things that was meant to be."
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