Freshman pitcher bowls 300 game for WCCC

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 | 6:02 PM

To have success as a pitcher, the key is throwing strikes.

The same can be said of a bowler. Throwing strikes is the key to winning games.

Westmoreland County Community College freshman Chaz Lankey, who pitches for the baseball team in the spring, was throwing strikes recently at Main Bowling Center in Greensburg.

How about 12 in a row to begin his team’s match with CCAC?

Yep, Lankey rolled the first 300 game of his career as WCCC won 3-0.

After starting his second game with consecutive spares, he rolled 10 more consecutive strikes to finish with a 279. His series was 762.

The man was smoking.

“When I was getting to throw the final ball, I was shaking,” Lankey said. “I was nervous. When I threw it, I thought I missed. But my coach (John Rahl) said, ‘Got it.’ It was an unreal feeling.”

Lankey is a 2020 graduate of Bedford High School. He’s a relief pitcher for the Wolfpack baseball team.

“I’ve been bowling since I was 7, but I hadn’t bowled much the past few years,” Lankey said. “Call it beginner’s luck. I can’t wait for the next game. I want to roll another 300 game.”

His next opportunity is Thursday at Coral Lanes in West Mifflin.

Lankey said his teammates were kidding him, saying, “You’ll walk the bases loaded and then strike out the side.”

“That’s not exactly how I’d like to work,” Lankey said. “But I know throwing strikes as a pitcher is important.”

It also pays dividends in bowling.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.