Lansing, Mich. -- The Youngstown State bowling team swept its two mega matches on Friday at the Lansing Regional and is one win away from advancing to the Final Four.
The Penguins, who are the third seed overall in the NCAA Tournament and the top seed in the Lansing Regional, beat both Marian and Maryville 2-0 to advance to the Regional Finals. With YSU remaining in the winners' bracket, it would have to be beaten twice by either Maryville or Nebraska in the finals on Saturday to not emerge as Regional Champions.
The title match will be at 3 p.m., and the "if-necessary" match that would occur if the Penguins fall would immediately follow. The match at 3 p.m. will be a standard mega match, and the winner-take-all would be a best-of-seven Baker match.
This is the second straight year that Youngstown State is bowling in the regional final at Royal Scot Golf & Bowl in Lansing, Mich. Last year, YSU emerged from the elimination bracket by beating Maryville and pushed Vanderbilt to the winner-take-all-match before falling to the eventual national champions.
Against Marian in the morning, Youngstown State won the traditional point 900-830 and the Baker point 975-929.
In the traditional round, the Penguins and Sabres were within just a few pins of each other through eight frames before Youngstown State pulled away over the CCIW champions. The Penguins got marks from all five spots in the lineup in the 10th frame, the Sabres had a pair of opens. Ellie Drescher, who came in off the bench for the Penguins, threw a turkey in the 10th, and anchor Jade Cote doubled to post the highest score on the pair at 200. Madyson Marx was close behind with a 197, and the Penguins ended up having an edge in the bottom four spots in the lineup.
Youngstown State shot 153 in the opening game of the Baker round as Marian opened up a 20-pin lead, but the Penguins bounced back with consecutive 234 games to take a 621-569 lead through three games. Marian shaved four pins off the deficit in game four and two in game five, and Youngstown State won 975-929.
The match against Maryville featured a higher scoring pace, and both rounds came down to the final frame.
In the traditional point, Marx picked up a key 2-10 split in the eighth frame, and the Penguins set a good foundation in the ninth to get within 20 pins of the Saints. Maryville started the 10th frame with two splits, and Amanda Granata converted the 3-6-9-10 from the leadoff spot to give YSU an early edge in the frame. Kirsten Moore then threw a turkey in the 10th from the third spot to build on a double and finish with a 225, and Cote slammed the door with a 234 game that allowed the Penguins to win 1,046-1,036.
Youngstown State then opened up a 61-pin lead in the Baker round with the help of a 227-171 edge in game two, but Maryville shaved 31 off the margin in game three. The Penguins held an 827-799 lead through game four, and the Saints put up a fight with a string of five strikes in the middle frames. Fifth-year senior Megan Grams struck in the seventh, and Moore and Marx followed with strikes as YSU started to close the gap, and Cote needed to convert the 3-6-9-10 to give the Penguins a chance. The junior converted the difficult spare, then struck on her fill shot to give YSU a 198 in game five and a 1,025-1,019 win in the match.
Every match of the NCAA Regionals is being streamed free on BowlTV. Fans can watch the Penguins at 3 p.m. by creating a login and selecting the Lansing Regional from available options.
Match Results
Match 1 vs. Marian - W: 2-0
Traditional Format - W: 900-830
Baker Format - W: 975-929
- Game 1: 153-173 (-20)
- Game 2: 234-215 (-1)
- Game 3: 234-181 (+52)
- Game 4: 186-190 (+48)
- Game 5: 168-170 (+46)
Match 2 vs. Maryville
Traditional Format - W: 1,046-1,036
Baker Format - W: 1,025-1,019
- Game 1: 215-210 (+5)
- Game 2: 227-171 (+61)
- Game 3: 174-205 (+30)
- Game 4: 211-213 (+28)
- Game 5:198-220 (+6)
