Michigan Majors Championship

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RONNIE SPARKS JR. TIES AN MMBA RECORD WITH HIS 4TH TITLE OF THE YEAR

The Budweiser Michigan Majors Bowling Association Championship Tournament was held on November 16-17 at Cherry Hill Lanes in Dearborn Heights. This is a special weekend for the Michigan Majors, which begins with qualifying for our biggest event of the year on Saturday morning. A new format this year featured eight games of qualifying on Saturday with the top eight bowlers returning Sunday for round robin match. After Sunday’s match play the top four bowlers headed to the stepladder finals to determine the champion. New format, same result for Ronnie Sparks Jr. of Redford. Qualifying 5th after the eight game qualifying round on Saturday, Sparks dominated the field during match play on Sunday going a perfect 8-0 to earn the top spot in the stepladder finals. Sparks capped off the day defeating Hall of Famer Dale Hofmeister 223-210 to win his fourth title of the year. Bob Stempien is the only other bowler to accomplish this feat, winning four times back in 1985. Sparks has a chance to hold the record by himself with a win at the Tournament of Champions to be held December 14th at Taylor Lanes in Taylor.

This month’s tournament featured the U.S. Open lane pattern. This demanding lane pattern was a great test for a strong field. Ray Eddy III of Saginaw paced the field of 41 bowlers with an eight game qualifying round of 1838. The cut score to make Sunday’s match play was 1747. Eddy received a check for $100 and a beautiful plaque provided by Cherry Hill Lanes as high qualifier. That wasn’t the only award Eddy was to receive Saturday. At our annual banquet that followed qualifying on Saturday Eddy was inducted into the Michigan Majors Hall of Fame along with long time member Pete Brown. A couple other special awards were presented including this year’s tournament dedication to Mike Lucente, long time Michigan Majors member and proprietor of Hazel Park Bowl, Harbor Lanes, and Wayne Bowl, the site of our annual Match Game Championship held in April. Bryan O’Dell was also presented the Bob Garrett Sportsman Award, given to the member that exemplifies congeniality, neatness and open sportsmanship for his fellow members.

The Championship stepladder finals began with fourth seed and defending champion Eddy meeting fellow Saginaw native Aaron Lorincz. Lorincz, already with three titles during his short four year MMBA career, survived a close match defeating Eddy 215-202. Eddy had a chance to win the match finishing the game on the right lane but came up high leaving the 4-6-10, ending his chance to defend his title. Eddy received the fourth place check of $400 for his efforts.

Lorincz then met Dale Hofmeister of Essexville. Hofmeister, who is not only in the MMBA Hall of Fame, but is also the all time title leader (19) and money leader ($68,425). This was a great match that came down to the 9th & 10th frames. Lorincz, finishing the match first, struck in the 7th & 8th frames but left a ringing 10 pin in the 9th. Lorincz went strike/spare in the 10th for 226. Hofmeister, with a strike up in the 9th, only needed a mark in 10th threw a strike to end Lorincz’s day with a 245-226 victory. Lorincz received $500 for his 3rd place finish.

Next up for Hofmeister was Ronnie Sparks Jr. Sparks, who already clinched MMBA Bowler of the Year and Rookie of the Year for 2013, was looking to cap off what is arguably one of the best seasons ever by a Michigan Majors member. Both players started slowly, but Hofmeister was able to throw strikes in the 5th –7th frames to take 17 pin lead. Sparks responded with strikes in the 7th – 9th frames to take back the lead as Hofmeister struggled down the stretch. Hofmeister left the 2-4-7-9 and 1-3-4-7-9 in the 8th & 9th frames respectively. Hofmeister converted both spares, but the loss of count proved costly. Dale managed to strike/spare in the 10th to finish with a score of 210. Sparks, needing a mark to win, threw the first strike in the 10th and went on to win 223-210. Sparks received the first place check of $1,200 and a plaque provided by Cherry Hill Lanes. Hofmeister received $600 with his 2nd place finish.

A big thank you to host Ted Hochstein of Cherry Hill Lanes along with General Manager Dave Hamilton for their continued dedication to the Michigan Majors. Cherry Hill Lanes is a special center that is currently the site of the Michigan Majors Hall of Fame and Championship Banquet. Of course, another thank you goes out to Westside Beer, our Budweiser distributor who again sponsored another successful MMBA event.

We were also excited to debut the Budweiser Michigan Majors on the Metro Detroit USBC’s newest television show ‘Michigan Kingpins’. Mark and his crew covered our stepladder finals with footage as well as interviews of our four finalists. We hope to continue this partnership at our next tournament to be held at Taylor Lanes in Taylor on December 14th. This is the MMBA’s annual Tournament of Champions which will feature one of our strongest fields of the year.
Qualifying time is 10:00 a.m. Our first tournament of 2014 will be held at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park on January 11th, also with a starting time of 10:00 a.m. For those interested in joining the MMBA, 2014 dues are $60, however, if you pay dues on January 11th (or anytime before) dues will be reduced to $40.

For information on participation or joining the Budweiser Michigan Majors, contact the tournament Office at (586) 871-7651 or visit the official website at www.michiganmajor.com.

FINAL STANDINGS
1. Ronnie Sparks Jr. (Redford) $1,200
2. Dale Hofmeister (Saginaw) $ 600
3. Aaron Lorincz (Saginaw) $ 500
4. Ray Eddy III (Saginaw) $ 400
5. Harry Sullins (Chesterfield Twp.) $ 350
6. Lonnie Jones (Ann Arbor) $ 300
7. Rick Zohott (Eaton Rapids) $ 275
8. Ed Burbo (Belleville) $ 250
9. J. R. Raymond (Bay City) $ 140
10. Mason Brantley (Detroit) $ 130