L.A. X, Silver Lake Atom Splitters Set Up Elias Cup Rematch
Despite vastly different rosters from a year ago, the Silver Lake Atom Splitters and L.A. X both earned their way into a rematch of the 2014 Elias Cup Finals.
Silver Lake, the defending champions, are led by manager Mark Baker, who brings back just one player from last season in Chris Barnes. Andrew Cain’s L.A. X returns two players, Jason Belmonte and Andres Gomez.
The Atom Splitters had to get past the Brooklyn Styles to reach the championship round and the L.A.
X battled the Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits, who nearly made it to the finals after two lackluster years in the PBA League.
In a game that showed the opposite of ineptitude (Baker games make it difficult to produce big scores), the Brooklyn Styles and Silver Lake Atom Splitters put on the highest-scoring close game of the entire tournament.
Brooklyn, anchored by Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III, edged the Atom Splitters, 244-230, to take game one and put themselves one game away from the Elias Cup Finals for the first time since the inaugural season, when they fell to the New York City WTT KingPins.
Final scores: Styles 244, Atom Splitters 230
If you’ve been watching the PBA League shows, it will come as no shock that the Atom Splitters fought back in game two, although instead of a relatively comfortable victory, they had to eek out a close one in order to the the match and one game a piece, sending it to yet another rolloff. If you’re counting, that’s five PBA League contests this season and five rolloffs.
Final scores: Atom Splitters 204, Styles 192
Johnny Petraglia stuck with his anchor, Parker Bohn III, who seemed automatic but surprisingly left a pin standing for a nine count. Mark Baker, who had proudly touted his choice of Dick Allen as the anchor bowler, sent Allen to the line, where the struck and secured the win, putting the defending champions back into the title match.
Silver Lake Atom Splitters Advance, 1-1 (10-9)
Wes Malott, now anchoring the Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits, was a big part of last season’s L.A. X team that finished second overall in the PBA League. This season, Malott was the foundation on which Pittsburgh was rebuilding itself, looking like one of the most formidable teams in the league. They were indeed, as shown by their 234-197 victory over L.A. in the first game.
Final scores: Jack Rabbits 234, X 197
The L.A. X didn’t look all that great in game one, but you know how these league competitions have gone. L.A. fought back, figured out the lanes and squeaked by game two with a narrow margin of victory, sending the sixth PBA League match to the sixth rolloff.
Final scores: X 202, Jack Rabbits 190
While every contest had gone to a rolloff throughout the entire tournament, resulting in huge excitement for the fans at Bayside Bowl, none of the previous five had gone past the first ball. That is, there had been no ties in the rolloffs. Until now.
Pittsburgh manager Tim Mack sent Wes Malott out first, who threw a nine count, which was matched by Andrew Cain’s Jason Belmonte. Next, Ryan Ciminelli and Stuart Williams both struck, sending the rolloff to a third round.
Osku Palermaa threw what looked like a great shot, but the 10 pin remained standing. L.A. X then sent out Martin Larsen, who struck to claim the victory and move his team into the finals, setting up a rematch from last season.
L.A. X Advance, 1-1 (9-9, 10-10, 10-9)
Silver Lake, the defending champions, are led by manager Mark Baker, who brings back just one player from last season in Chris Barnes. Andrew Cain’s L.A. X returns two players, Jason Belmonte and Andres Gomez.
The Atom Splitters had to get past the Brooklyn Styles to reach the championship round and the L.A.
X battled the Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits, who nearly made it to the finals after two lackluster years in the PBA League.
Team Rosters From This Telecast, In Order of Lineup
Silver Lake Atom Splitters
- Manager: Mark Baker
- Mika Koivuniemi
- Chris Barnes
- Craig Nidiffer
- Tom Daugherty
- Dick Allen
Brooklyn Styles
- Manager: Johnny Petraglia
- Walter Ray Williams, Jr.
- Jason Sterner
- Tom Smallwood
- Sean Rash
- Parker Bohn III
L.A. X
- Manager: Andrew Cain
- Stuart Williams
- Andres Gomez
- Martin Larsen
- Patrick Allen
- Jason Belmonte
Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits
- Manager: Tim Mack
- Bryon Smith
- Dan MacLelland
- Ryan Ciminelli
- Osku Palermaa
- Wes Malott
Semifinal Match 1: Brooklyn Styles vs. Silver Lake Atom Splitters
In a game that showed the opposite of ineptitude (Baker games make it difficult to produce big scores), the Brooklyn Styles and Silver Lake Atom Splitters put on the highest-scoring close game of the entire tournament.
Brooklyn, anchored by Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III, edged the Atom Splitters, 244-230, to take game one and put themselves one game away from the Elias Cup Finals for the first time since the inaugural season, when they fell to the New York City WTT KingPins.
Final scores: Styles 244, Atom Splitters 230
If you’ve been watching the PBA League shows, it will come as no shock that the Atom Splitters fought back in game two, although instead of a relatively comfortable victory, they had to eek out a close one in order to the the match and one game a piece, sending it to yet another rolloff. If you’re counting, that’s five PBA League contests this season and five rolloffs.
Final scores: Atom Splitters 204, Styles 192
Johnny Petraglia stuck with his anchor, Parker Bohn III, who seemed automatic but surprisingly left a pin standing for a nine count. Mark Baker, who had proudly touted his choice of Dick Allen as the anchor bowler, sent Allen to the line, where the struck and secured the win, putting the defending champions back into the title match.
Silver Lake Atom Splitters Advance, 1-1 (10-9)
Semifinal Match 2: Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits vs. L.A. X
Wes Malott, now anchoring the Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits, was a big part of last season’s L.A. X team that finished second overall in the PBA League. This season, Malott was the foundation on which Pittsburgh was rebuilding itself, looking like one of the most formidable teams in the league. They were indeed, as shown by their 234-197 victory over L.A. in the first game.
Final scores: Jack Rabbits 234, X 197
The L.A. X didn’t look all that great in game one, but you know how these league competitions have gone. L.A. fought back, figured out the lanes and squeaked by game two with a narrow margin of victory, sending the sixth PBA League match to the sixth rolloff.
Final scores: X 202, Jack Rabbits 190
While every contest had gone to a rolloff throughout the entire tournament, resulting in huge excitement for the fans at Bayside Bowl, none of the previous five had gone past the first ball. That is, there had been no ties in the rolloffs. Until now.
Pittsburgh manager Tim Mack sent Wes Malott out first, who threw a nine count, which was matched by Andrew Cain’s Jason Belmonte. Next, Ryan Ciminelli and Stuart Williams both struck, sending the rolloff to a third round.
Osku Palermaa threw what looked like a great shot, but the 10 pin remained standing. L.A. X then sent out Martin Larsen, who struck to claim the victory and move his team into the finals, setting up a rematch from last season.
L.A. X Advance, 1-1 (9-9, 10-10, 10-9)
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