'It's good to finally do it': Ashland boys bowling wins home tournament for first time

ASHLAND — It was five years in the making for Ashland boys bowling coach Mark Dreibelbis.

But it was well worth the wait.

The Ashland boys won the fifth annual Baker Bash Tournament Saturday at Luray Lanes, defeating Perrysburg 227-214 and 190-173 in the finals for their first victory in the event under Dreibelbis.

The Wooster girls also won, defeating Triway in the championship match, winning the first game -148, losing the second 226-162 and taking the final game 209-168.

“It’s the fifth year we’ve had this tournament and the first time I’ve won it as a coach, so it’s a huge burden off of my chest and shoulders,” Dreibelbis said. “Other than the state tournament, this is one of the other tournaments I’ve really wanted to win, so it’s good to finally do it.”

Zion Caudill, Brayden Long, Matthias Wood, Parker Grissinger, Rex Mazzotta and Blake Stout bowled for Ashland.

Dreibelbis said many things have to come into play to win the tournament. The Arrows placed first in the qualifying round, posting a 3,366 total, before taking down Lexington in the semifinals.

“Spares, patience, being slow and deliberate, bowling as a team, having a few strikes in a row,” Dreibelbis said. “It’s a total group effort, from the players to the coaches. Everybody has to be on the same page to get it done.”

Caudill agreed with his coach’s assessment.

“Nothing’s easy, as the coaches have always told us, but I’m just happy we pulled out the win today,” Caudill said. “The fun part is when you’re bowling Bakers, you have other people that can rely on you, so if you throw a bad frame — say you miss a split or something — you have people behind you that can pick you up the very next frame, and there are just positive elements all around.

“And I think it’s safe to say, as this new year is coming around, the team chemistry has definitely improved dramatically.”

Ashland girls slip up in the semis; Wooster, Triway both shine

The Ashland girls team of Kelsey Baker, Jada Baker, Makayla Dreibelbis, Aubrie Cooke, Haley Rowe and Amelia Brown qualified first with a 3,164 total but fell in the semifinals to Triway. Ashland won the first game 194-156, then lost 177-160 and 232-203.

“You have to work as a team, and our team was doing pretty good, but we fell apart with our spares a little bit,” said Kelsey Baker. “Triway is pretty good, and they were striking. I think they had seven strikes in a row, and we had a few opens, and they just shut us out in the end.

“During qualifying we were doing great with an 800 series and a 251 game, but Triway ended up bowling better than us, so maybe we should take a couple of extra seconds on our spares.”

Ashland girls coach Michele Baker said the team was on fire during the qualifying round and had great sets all day long.

“They were lined up perfectly where they were supposed to be, and we got into match play and Triway decided we’re going to get that Ashland team,” coach Baker said. “My girls looked worn out already, so I think they may have used it all up during qualifying.

"It’s hard because you just have the best two out of three, so you’ve got to be set up and ready to go immediately. You don’t get all day to adjust to that. But these girls bowl awesomely together and are great teammates and encourage each other all day long.”

The Wooster girls defeated Green in the semis before taking on Triway in the championship match.

Pacing Wooster were Abby Coleman, Chloe Bennett, Izabell Cain, Abbie Leiendecker, Kayla Ling, Rachel Grayshock, Rebecca Stinchcomb and Linnea Savage.

“The team worked well together, and I think we’re right on schedule for the postseason. We have the (Ohio Cardinal Conference Tournament) coming up (at Wooster) Feb. 5 and the sectionals two weeks after that,” said Wooster girls coach Tracie Leiendecker. “I’ve always said about this time I wished I had another week, but I’m really satisfied with the way we’re coming together as a team.

“Our senior leadership is incredible. Two of my seniors bowled today, Kayla and Rebecca, and there were times when the girls went three, four and five and struck every game, so I couldn’t ask any more from them. And then I had a little talk with my sophomore Abby Coleman, where she stepped up to the plate and threw the next eight consecutive strikes for herself, so everybody played a part. When somebody was down, somebody else picked them up.”

Triway also is gearing up for the postseason run in nice fashion, as the combination of Addy Meshew, Kennedy Finley, Sydney Wile, Lindsay Miller, Danielle Densmore and Emma Yoder collectively worked well together.

“During the qualifying we were a little up and down, and it’s hard to keep your mental focus for 16 games, and then a couple of girls start struggling a little bit and it kind of goes into the rest of the team,” said Triway coach Corby Anderson. “I keep telling them, you can’t come back, you've got to be ready for that next shot and be more into it, then she’s into it.

“We came out in the match play then, had a good one against Ashland and then we kind of lost it a little bit on one lane against Wooster. It’s a learning experience, and we’re D-2. All of the other teams [here] are D-I, so our plan is to win the state.”

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland boys bowling wins home tournament for first time