Springfield finds its groove

Springfield was on the verge of getting knocked out of the Baker semifinals Saturday, then the Cosmos found their groove.

   

2017-01-16 / Sports Springfield finds its groove «» View full-size Springfield's Alex Richardson receives a congratulatory hand slap from Windsor's Troy McCabe. — TIM TAYLOR http://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/Bowl-Richardson.JPGhttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/Bowl-Gilbert.JPGhttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/Bowl-StLouis.JPG By TIM TAYLOR sports@eagletimes.com CLAREMONT — Springfield was on the verge of getting knocked out of the Baker semifinals Saturday, then the Cosmos found their groove. Springfield would stave off elimination to down Brattleboro in a three-game set, including a decisive two-frame roll-off, then defeat top-seeded Windsor to take top honors. “To come in here into Windsor's house and beat them, being that they're the reigning state champs, is really a nice feeling,” said Springfield coach Mike Mullins. “We did pretty well overall,” the Cosmos' Alex Richardson said. “We had a little rough start in the individuals, but we came together as team during Baker rounds. Overall, I think our team came together, did really well from where we started today and ended in first.” Although the Yellow Jackets are the defending champs, they are competing with several new faces in their lineup. Brandyn Labarron, a second-year bowler, is the lone returnee from last year's varsity team. Tatyana Malikowski and Troy McCabe made the move up from the JV squad while Grayson Frazer and Rayce Gilbert are newcomers. Windsor also switched bowling centers this season, making Maple Lanes their new home, but Saturday's match was the Jacks' first of the season on this side of the state line. Still, they looked very much at home during qualifying, posting a 1425. LaBarron would roll a 385 (196-189), his score being the second highest behind the 388 of Richardson (198-190). Those two dominated qualifying with the next closest bowler being Brattleboro's Jeremy Lackey at 335 (164-171). Springfield finished qualifying as the second seed with a 1399 with Brattleboro third at 1252 and South Royalton fourth at 1047. Brattleboro would squeak out a 133-131 win over the Cosmos in the first game of the semis. In game two, the Colonels were on the verge of sweeping when Richardson came through with a pair of strikes in the 10th frame to lock up a 151-140 victory. The Colonels forced the roll-off in game three with a trio of strikes and a spare over the final four frames for a 136 tie, but Richardson and Haley St. Louis prevailed 40-36. “It's crazy,” Richardson said of bowling a roll-off. “It's not like anything else I've ever experienced. It's just overwhelming. We had to do 9th and 10th roll-off a couple years ago at states and I messed up. I dropped it in the gutter in the 10th frame and lost by one pin, so after that day it's just more and more pressure when it comes to that.” Now, to counter the pressure, Richardson said he just tries to block people out, take deep breaths and take his time to get his mark during roll-offs. “That's the first time that's happened to me,” said Mullins, a second-year coach, of the roll-off. “I've never had to do the 9-10 frame over again, so it was really exciting.” Meanwhile, Windsor was solid in its semi and cruised past SoRo, winning 146-102 and 133-99. In the finals, Springfield recorded 143-113 and 151-129 wins over the Jacks. The Cosmos got key strikes in the third and fourth, and a spare in the sixth to build a 33-pin cushion. The Cosmos would enter the final frame needing just one pin to lock up the win. In game two, Windsor registered strikes in the first and fourth, but wasn't able to score any other marks until going spare-strike-strike in the ninth and 10th. By that time, Springfield had built a 111-80 lead and secured the win with a strike-spare-strike finish. Overall, Mullins was happy with the victory. “For the most part it was a consistent team effort,” he said. “They struggled in the qualifying, but they pulled it together and came together really good as a team, and came out with two big wins in the first round, and then beat Windsor in the second round. “In the individuals I thought Alex Richardson really pulled it together and stayed very, very consistent throughout … so I thought he did really well today.” In qualifying, Springfield's other bowlers were Cierra Howe (129-112), St. Louis (117-146), Issiah Albanese (112-102), Matt Power (169-124) and Meghan Power (134-112). Windsor's scores were 117-152 by Malikowski, 81-129 from Frazer, 120-117 by Gilbert and 155-169 from McCabe. On Saturday, Springfield will host a match at Springfield Bowl while Windsor heads to Valley Bowl in Rutland. Both events begin at 1 p.m.