It’s the joy of bowling.
How sweet it is when a league bowler pops a score well above his or her average and carries over the hot spell through the rest of the series.
And that was Geoff Gast, who blistered a 182 in his first game – nearly 50 pins above his 134 average – and added a 147 and 138 for a 467 series, or a sizzling 671 series with handicap.
Gast had a run of eight straight marks in the first game, highlighted by a turkey, or three strikes in a row, from the third to the fifth frame during league play Tuesday night at AMF Woodlake Lanes in Woodland Hills.
The 34-year-old Gast was smiling ear to ear throughout the night. And his many friends at the bowling house were smiling along with him as he made a strong bid to eclipse his personal high of 191 and reach the magical 200 barrier.
The lighthearted Gast showed his enthusiasm with two sports metaphors that described his night:
“I felt like LeBron James on the bowling alley.”
And:
“I’m like a starting pitcher. Either my arm is ready or it isn’t. Either I’ll bowl well or I’ll suck. [This time] I was very pleased and I’d like to do the same thing next Tuesday.”
Gast’s first-game score marked the high for his team and that of his opponents. And Gast’s opposing team was the “Guys and Dolls’’ league co-leader with such stalwarts as Pete Diffley (173 average) and Diane Weed (167 average).
“I bowled with a lot of intensity,” Gast said. “I was focused and in a zone.”
Gast, a Tarzana resident, made a slight adjustment in his approach to the line – keeping his arms straight. And it paid off. “I think this will help me in the long run,” he said.
For his series, Gast totaled 11 strikes, the most he’s ever achieved by far in a series.
“I didn’t start well but then all of a sudden, it came out of nowhere, the ball was on fire,” Gast added. “I told [teammate] Jean[-Pierre Uzan] that ‘I don’t know how this is happening.’ It was just my night I guess.”
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