via Richard Skinner, NKY.com
LEXINGTON — The Highlands boys’
bowling team hadn’t been all that good in the Baker Format this season,
according to its coach Glenn Schmidt, but it was certainly good enough in that
format on Friday to reach the state championship match.
After finishing as the No.
6 seed out of 16 teams in the qualifying round, Highlands won hard-fought
matches over Campbell County and Fern Creek, then knocked off No. 2-seed East
Jessamine to reach the championship round where the Bluebirds fell to Scott
County 3-1 in the best-of-five game match at Collins Eastland Lanes.
The Baker Format is
comprised of five bowlers on a team rolling one frame each, then another frame
each to comprise a team score (i.e. the first bowler rolls frames 1 and 6, the
second bowler frames 2 and 7, etc.).
Highlands wound up rolling
two of its three lowest scores in the entire tournament in the championship
match, falling 231-206, 190-213, 233-155, 206-166.
“We haven’t been that good
of a Baker team all year, but my team has just been getting so much better and
today they peaked,” said Schmidt. “That’s what we hoped for. We would have
liked to have taken this last match, but I’m still highly proud of them they
made it this far.”
Highlands’ Baker Format
team was comprised of senior Nathan Schutte in the leadoff spot, followed in
order by senior Jimmy Penrod, senior Brandon Caruso, sophomore James Killen and
sophomore Jake Farley, who finished fourth in the state individual tournament
on Thursday and was selected National Guard Best & Brightest for the
tournament.
After dropping the first
game to Scott County thanks in large part to Scott County opening with five
straight strikes, Highlands came back to win the second game thanks to strikes
in frames 3-5 and open frames by Scott County in frames 3 and 4.
“We bowled very well the
second game and I saw their confidence going up and thought we had a shot,”
said Schmidt. “I thought, ‘OK, we came back, we’re ready to take this now.’ I
felt good about our chances.”
Highlands then tied its low
score of the tournament in the third game with a 155, while Scott County strung
together six straight strikes starting in the sixth frame.
Scott County started the
fourth game with four straight strikes, while Highlands struggled went without
a strike in frames 6-9 on its lane.
“We really struggled on
that lane that last game,” said Schmidt. “The ball kept coming in high. We
tried to preach to stay firm with the ball and they really weren’t able to do
that. That said, Scott County really threw the ball well and it was more them
beating us than anything else.”
The only area team in the girls’ team tournament to advance from
the first round was Newport, which finished as the No. 13 seed in qualifying
and upset No. 4 Louisville Mercy 3-1 before falling to eventual runner-up
Lexington Bryan Station 3-2. Newport won the first game of that match, then
dropped the next two and forced the decisive fifth game when junior Katlyn Hoeh
rolled two strikes and and an eight count in the 10th frame of the fourth game.
