Plum bowlers gain momentum after sweeping Franklin Regional

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, January 4, 2018 | 7:42 PM

There was a little bit of frustration for the Plum boys bowling team heading into Wednesday's WPIBL East section clash with undefeated Franklin Regional.

“Even though we were 4-0, the guys didn't feel they performed up to their capabilities the first four matches and didn't pick up where they left off last season,” Plum coach Jerry Yushinski said. “I wasn't sure what was going on. We talked about it and practiced over Christmas break, and they all felt this week was going to be their week.”

Yushinski said he expected a close and competitive match, and the Mustangs and Panthers (3-1) didn't disappoint. Plum won the first game by 42 pins (1,082 to 1,040) and took the second and third games and total pins for a 7-0 victory.

“We knew Franklin Regional was the team we would battle for first place,” Yushinski said. “They beat us last year to end a long winning streak in section, and the guys remembered that. Both teams bowled really well, and we beat an amazing team.”

Yushinski said getting the points sweep in the match was important in case tiebreakers for the section title come into play at the end of the regular season.

Both senior Franklin Mercurio and sophomore Ty Kirkpatrick finished one pin away from rolling 300 games against Franklin Regional.

Mercurio started his 745 series with a 289 in Game 1. He rolled 10 straight strikes before leaving the 10 pin on his 11th shot. He picked up the spare to complete the game.

“We could see from his first couple of shots that it was going to be a good day,” Yushinski said.

Kirkpatrick rolled a 290 in Game 3. His lone blemish was a nine spare in the first frame. He struck out after that to complete a 698 series.

Fellow sophomore Owen Cirelli bowled a 679 series with games of 236, 222 and 221, sophomore Vincent Cocca tallied a 558 series (223 high game) and junior Matt Brown rolled a 547 series.

The Plum girls came into their match with Franklin Regional (1-3) with the third highest average in the WPIBL.

The team produced a match-best 870 in Game 2 en route to a 7-0 sweep and a 5-0 record in section play.

“That 870 is a very good score,” Yushinski said. “The girls are on a good path.”

Senior Meghan Christman, sporting a section-leading 210.25 average through four games, bowled a 206, 169 and 172 against FR for a team-best 547 series.

“Meghan, from her freshman year to now, has always bowled with a certain calmness,” Yushinski said. “She is gaining even more poise.”

Sophomore Shannon Small and junior Brianna Pilyih each added 539 series.

“At any given time, each bowler from both teams is capable of doing great things,” Yushinski said.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: Plum