ABERDEEN — Knocking the pins down in competition for the first time this season, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ bowling team split its two matches Thursday.
Starting their campaign in hopes of making it back to the postseason, the Raiders and head coach Chris Larsen faced reigning state champion Southern Lee High School and Pinecrest High School.
Richmond battled closely with the state champion Cavaliers but lost 4-1. The Raiders redeemed themselves with a 4-1 victory over the Patriots, who were a state finalist a season ago.
“This was a good start to the season,” Larsen said. “We knew we’d face two tough teams and to be able to split our matches, that was a step in the right direction. We have a mixture of returners and new bowlers and today was a chance to mix and match to see which lineups work best.
“Our veteran guys like Landon Summerlin and Landon Taylor carried us today,” he added. “They understand the game and the pressure that comes with it, and both were cool, calm and collected. It was also a big day from Owen Hancock, who we expect to have a bigger role this season.”
Taylor perfect despite Raiders’ loss to Southern Lee
To start the season, Larsen stuck with a five-bowler rotation in Richmond’s 4-1 defeat to Southern Lee. Bowling two frames apiece for the Raiders were Hancock, juniors Azariah Daniel and Hayden Wheeler, along with Taylor and Summerlin in the anchor.
Richmond fell by game scores of 161-185, 194-157, 155-174, 149-178 for a final pin count of 659-714. As a team, the Raiders closed 31-of-43 frames (71%) with 14 strikes and 17 spares.
Taylor had a perfect closing percentage in his eight frames, rolling one strike and picking up an impressive seven spares. Hancock was nearly perfect, as he closed 7-of-8 frames (88%) with three strikes and four pickups.
Daniel, another new addition to the lineup, picked up a trio of strikes for his three closed frames. Wheeler rolled two strikes and added two spares in his eight frames.
Summerlin, who is moving full time into the anchor spot for the Raiders, shut down 9-of-11 frames (82%). He connected for five strikes and knocked down four spares.
Raiders rebound for first win of season over Pinecrest
Not wanting to start with back-to-back losses to begin the season, the Raiders made adjustments and rallied to defeat Pinecrest 4-1.
Richmond won by game scores of 183-132, 213-147, 125-143 and 196-128, securing the extra point with a pin total of 717-550.
The Raiders combined for 20 strikes, nine spares, averaged a game score of 179.3 and finished out 67% of their frames.
Taylor, who finished the day with a team-high .940 closing percentage between the two matches, went 7-for-8 against the Patriots with three strikes and four spares.
Hancock (78%) and Summerlin (73%) also did damage in their allotted frames. In his eight frames, Hancock closed six of them with four strikes and two spares, while Summerlin added a team-high six strikes and two pickups in his 11 frames.
Daniel bowled four more perfect rolls to go along with a spare, while senior Ahjujuan Ewing made his debut and chipped in a trio of strikes to secure the win.
The Raiders will face Hoke County and Union Pines high schools on Dec. 5 in their second meet of the season. The matches will be held in Laurinburg and start at 4 p.m.
