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Graham Fach won the PBA Central Region Bowlerstore.com Open at Pla-Mor Lanes in Coldwater for the second time in five years.
COLDWATER - Graham Fach was at the top of his game all weekend at Pla-Mor Lanes in Coldwater.
But even he needed a big strike on the first ball of the 10th frame of the final match to defeat Ethan Fiore 217-213 to win the PBA Central Region Bowlerstore.com Open on Sunday,
It's the second time the Urbana-based Fach has won in Coldwater, having picked up the 2022 title. Sunday's win earned him a $10,000 winner's check.
"This is a very competitive field. These guys are some of the best in the world, and I think they've proven it," said Fach. "So yeah, anytime I can be at the top or near the top of this kind of field, it's pretty special."
After Saturday's qualifying, Fach had a four-pin lead on Trae Henrichsmeyer. Fach then built an 11-pin lead as the field was cut from 32 to 16, then went up 38 pins at the cut to eight. In the final two games to cut to the final four, Fiore and AJ Johnson, who won the mid-week event in Delphos, went ahead, putting Fach as the third seed at the start of the stepladder round against Henrichsmeyer,
Fach regained some power in the first stepladder match, rolling six straight strikes to end the match for a 243-194 win to advance to face second-seeded Johnson. Fach picked up some big strikes early against Johnson, who hit a snag in the fifth frame when he was unable to pick up the spare after rolling a nine on the first ball. Johnson later went 7-2 on the ninth frame, allowing Fach to get the 223-171 win to advance to face Fiore.
Fiore, the runner-up last weekend in Minster and had bowled a 300 during Saturday's qualifying, opened with three strikes while Fach rolled a 9-spare in the first frame followed by four straight strikes.
The tide began to turn in Fiore's fourth frame when he was unable to pick up the spare after rolling an eight on the first ball. Then after getting a spare in the fifth, Fiore managed just four pins in the sixth frame, leaving a 3-4-6-7-9-10 split. Fiore was able to only get three pins for a seven. Fiore then rolled three straight strikes in the seventh through ninth frames. In the same stretch, Fach rolled a spare, open-9 and a strike.
Fiore got the first roll in the 10th frame, getting a strike on the first shot before rolling a seven on his second shot. Fiore got two pins to finish with a 213.
Fach needed a strike on his first ball in the 10th, and got it. When needing two pins on the next ball to clinch, Fach got four, followed up with two more pins to get 217.
"If Ethan has a chance he's going to find a way," said Fach. "I had a big enough lead from the beginning that when I stumbled, I still had a chance in the 10th.
What the Hartings family (owners of Pla-Mor) does all week and the Davidson family with Minster (Community Lanes) with the kill family in Delphos, they put together the Brunswick cup. It's another incentive for the bowlers," continued Fach. "There's not many events that do this, and you can't do it without providers and sponsorships that they get."
Ethan Fiore, holding trophy, won the Brunswick Cup for the second straight year based on his performance at the PBA Central Regional tournaments in Minster, Delphos and Coldwater the last two weeks.
The long week and a half of bowling with two runner-up finishes didn't go unrewarded for Fiore, who picked up $5,000 for finishing second at Coldwater. Based on his finsihes at Minster, Delphos and Coldwater, Fiore won the Brunswick Cup for the second straight year, earning him an additional $4,000.
"Guys run with the highs and lows," said Fiore. "I mean, I don't like staying too high, and I never get too low. You just gotta keep going. It's a brutal week for everyone."
Johnson earned $2,500 for finishing third with Henrichsmeyer taking home $2,000 for fourth.
