It’s absolutely electric and comes at a completely unexpected time.
It’s 10th-frame lightning, a phenomenon in which bowlers inexplicably pull out of their doldrums and stage an exciting finish to their game with three strikes in the final frame.
It happened Tuesday night in the “Guys and Dolls” League at AMF Woodlake Lanes in Woodland Hills. This time the beneficiary was John Dela Rionda, who was moseying along with a 110 score through nine frames in his second game.
Then, the right-handed Dela Rionda – a 147 average bowler with a 202 game to his credit this season – put it together on his final three shots. They may not have been all picture-book hits, but they looked solid on the scorecard as Dela Rionda struck out in the 10th frame to elevate his score to a respectable 140.
Dela Rionda used the momentum from the second game to post strikes in the first two frames of his final game en route to a 150. Scoring a few pins above his average allowed his team to edge its opponent in the final game and score a sweep for the night.
Dela Rionda explained his success in the 10th frame of the second game by saying: “I moved to a new location – four boards to the right. I had to do something.”
He scored a 158 in the first game to give him a 600-plus score with handicap.
“That [change] made a whole lot of difference,” Dela Rionda said. “When things aren’t working, you have to do something.”
Dela Rionda made his adjustments and when it works, that’s when lightning can strike.
Comments