Mountain Sun Lanes general manager and bowling pro shop operator Mike Weems Jr. has been bowling a little below his usual average this fall during sanctioned league play on the Bellevue alleys.
Last year he was up around 230, pretty good in any bowler's book. This past fall Weems has been averaging 222 in Thursday Night Mixed League competition, and that still calls for bowling a lot of strikes.
But if the 30-year-old Weems had been a little off his game, he snapped out of the mini-slump in a big way Thursday, Dec. 20 during sanctioned Thursday Night Mixed action.
Weems rolled a series of these consecutive games—248, 300 and 257. That gave him a three-game 805 scratch series. It was the second sanctioned 300 game for Weems, who threw one about 10 years ago.
The excitement about whether Weems could exceed the 800 series standard for only his second time came down to the 10th and final frame in the third and final game.
He nailed it and his "Fantastic Four" teammates celebrated. "It was really nail-biting," said an observer and a crack bowler in her own right, Rosie Soto.
Weems struck out in a good way, bowling three straight strikes to finish with his 257 and 805 series. He will be recognized by the U.S. Bowling Congress with prestigious diamond pins for his perfect 300 game and also for his 800 scratch series.
"It was a pretty smooth three games for Mike," said Soto. "Lately he has seemed very relaxed and lined up. It seemed every strike was solid. For one of the first times he was using a new 15-pound ball he just drilled."
The Wood River Bowling Association men's and women's city tournaments are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9 at the Bellevue alleys owned by Weems' parents.
