JONESBORO, Ark. – The Jacksonville State bowling team held on to second place at Arkansas State's Mid-Winter Invitational on Saturday, despite a tough day that saw them drop three matches.
The top-ranked Gamecocks (73-14) suffered their first losing record in a day since going 2-3 on the first day of the season on Saturday, when they dropped traditional matches to No. 7 Louisiana Tech, No. 3 Arkansas State and No. 23 McKendree. They earned wins over fifth-ranked Vanderbilt and Grambling.
Despite the three losses, the Gamecocks remained in position to contend for the tournament title on Sunday. They will enter the bracket portion of the event in second place and will face host and first-place Arkansas State in a best-of-7 Baker match that will send the winner to the finals.
Jax State's 10,460 total pins are just behind the Wolves' 10,570, thanks to a 183-pin lead that was built during Friday's Baker matches. Fifth-year senior
Maranda Pattison was the Gamecocks' top individual performer on Saturday with a total pinfall of 1,104 that was 10
th among 116 competitors.
On Saturday, the Gamecocks fell to LA Tech by a score of 1,017-980 to start the day. Pattison led the way in the match with a 248, while fellow senior
Isabel Allen rolled a 205.
Jax State recovered and bowled three-straight games over 1,000, starting with a 1,011-709 win over Grambling that was also paced by Pattison. She posted a 238 in the win, while Allen (200),
Crystal Elliott (210) and
Rebecca Hagerman (210) were each over 200.
The third game saw the Gamecocks' score go up, but they fell to Arkansas State by a score of 1,150-1,033. Pattison's 236 led the Gamecocks again, and Elliott (217), Hagerman (215) and Allen (212) each scored over 200.
Jax State got back in the win column against Vanderbilt in the fourth match of the day, one that was paced by Allen's 256. Hagerman (215), Elliott (209) and Pattison (213) also added scored above 200 in the 1,067-1,023 win.
The day closed with a 1,046-959 loss to McKendree in which the Gamecocks couldn't get pins to fall when they needed them. Hagerman's 212 led Jax State, with Elliott adding a 210 and Allen a 206.
The winner of Sunday's match with Arkansas State will advance straight into the title match, while the loser will face the winner of the Vanderbilt-Youngstown State match for the last spot in the final.
