Allen Park, Mich. — The Youngstown State bowling team fought through a tough stretch but found its line in time to beat Sam Houston 2-1 in a mega-match on Friday and stay alive in its dream to be national champions.
The Penguins dropped their opening match 2-0 to Arkansas State on Friday morning, and they trailed Sam Houston 1-0 after a low-scoring traditional point. Youngstown State finally put a long string of strikes together to start the Baker pinfall round, and it went on to win the final two points and beat the Bearkats.
Youngstown State is guaranteed a top-three finish at the national tournament, which is already the best finish in program history, and it has a rematch with Arkansas State on Saturday at 9 a.m. at Thunderbowl Lanes. The winner between the Penguins and Red Wolves will advance to play Jacksonville State for the national championship on Saturday at 9 p.m. The final will be broadcast live on ESPNU, and the semifinal match will be broadcast on NCAA.com.
YSU shot 860, 956 and 882 in its first three five-game sets of the day as it was swept by the Red Wolves and faced elimination against Sam Houston. In game one of the Baker pinfall point, Youngstown State strung seven strikes together to shoot 233 and take a 31-pin lead. YSU kept a lead of at least 16 throughout the match, and there was a big swing at the end of game three as Sam Houston was on its way to taking a big chunk out of the deficit. The Bearkats' anchor split in the 10th, and Madyson Marx doubled to salvage a 194 game as YSU lost just 16 pins off its lead. The Penguins shot 219 in game four to up their lead to 37, and they protected it with a 188 in game five.
Youngstown State then shot 210 or better if five of its six games of the best-of-seven Baker portion of the match to win 4-2. The Penguins had wins of 226-181 and 247-221, and a 10th-frame split resulted in a four-pin loss in game three. YSU responded with a 232-190 win in game four, and Sam Houston extended the match with a 233 in game five. The Penguins then shot 231 in game six to win by 47 pins.
Against Arkansas State in the Final Four opener, the Penguins played from behind the entire traditional point and fell 987-860 to the Red Wolves.
Youngstown State got off to a better start in the Baker pinfall round and held a 23-pin lead after two games, but Arkansas State got hot and threw 11 straight strikes between the end of game three and the start of game four to pull ahead. The Red Wolves had a 245-189 edge in game four to add 56 pins to its one-pin advantage, and they fired a 248 in game five to close out the match.
Kirsten Moore was YSU's leader in traditional play in both matches with games of 189 against Arkansas State and 211 versus Sam Houston. All nine Penguins participated in the win over the Bearkats.
Match Results
Match 1 vs. Arkansas State
Traditional Format - L: 987-860
Baker Format - L: 1,059-956
- Game 1: 201-190
- Game 2: 183-171
- Game 3: 181-205
- Game 4: 189-245
- Game 5: 202-248
Match 2 vs Sam Houston
Traditional - L: 1,009-882
Baker - W: 1,013-979
Lineup: Doseck, Drescher, Moore, Cote, Marx
- Game 1: 233-202
- Game 2: 179-178 | +32
- Game 3: 194-210 | +16
- Game 4: 219-198 | +37
- Game 5: 188-191 | +34
Best-of-Seven
Lineup: Doseck, Drescher, Moore, Cote, Marx
- Game 1: 226-181 | Win
- Game 2: 247-221 | Win
- Game 3: 212-216 | Loss
- Game 4: 232-190 | Win
- Game 5: 168-233 | Loss
- Game 6: 231-184 | Win
