LANSING, Mich.—For the third year in a row, Jax State will bowl for a trip to the national championship.
During the first day of play at the Lansing Regional, the Gamecocks won their two mega matches by the score of 2-0 against Carroll and North Carolina A&T to take on either North Carolina A&T or Youngstown State on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern in the final of the double-elimination tournament.
Jax State started the day with a win over Carroll with a 1,062-899 win in traditional and a 1,046-852 win in Baker.
Kaitlyn Stull posted 253 in traditional play lead the Gamecocks and fellow freshman
Gianna Brandolino added 233. During the Baker portion of the match, the Gamecocks set the tone early with a 279-195 advantage in the first and a 255-196 win in the third to hold a 181-pin lead through three.
In the semifinal round, three Gamecocks were over 200 led by
Annalise OBryant's 244 and was followed by a 224 from
Erin Klemencic and a 222 from Brandolino to rack up a 1,050-807 win. During the first of the five Baker games, NCAT put together a three-bagger in the ninth to get within 11, but Stull put together a turkey in the 11
th to give her team a 21-pin lead after one.
The Gamecocks struck once through the lineup in the second game and even left two frames open following but still added 14 pins to their advantage with a 213-199 win. The Aggies only struck twice in the third game in a 216-166 loss which all but cemented a trip to Saturday's final for Jax State.
In the fifth game, Jax State was perfect through nine, finishing with a total of 262 for the game and a 1,117-955 win.
Jax State's opponent will be determined Saturday morning in the final elimination match which begins at 9 a.m. Eastern. All matches all weekend long are available on BowlTV.
