ROCHESTER, N.Y. (4/5/24) – The Arkansas State women’s bowling team rallied past No. 16 Merrimack to advance to the National Collegiate Bowling Rochester Regional Championship match Saturday at 2:00 p.m. (CT).
Merrimack took a 1-0 lead in the mega-match winning the traditional portion 994-946. Faith Welch paced A-State with a game of 224 while Maggie Thoma also surpassed 200 pins downing 206. Brooklyn Buchanan rolled 181 pins, Karli VanDuinen totaled 168 and Saralyne Nassberg put down 167.
A-State evened the mega-match taking the Baker 5-game by a 60-pin margin. The Red Wolves built a 34-pin advantage in game one, 228-194, and expanded it to 50 with a 191-175 margin in game two. A 51-pin margin in the third of five games put the A-State lead at plus-101 and the Red Wolves went into game five with a 123-pin advantage following a 236-214 tally in game four. Merrimack took game five 255-195, but the A-State lead was enough to force the decisive Baker best-of-seven.
Merrimack took game one in the best-of-seven 226-198 and did not trail until a roll-off after the seventh game. Game two was a 214-214 tie and the Red Wolves took game three 232-156 to even the match at 1.5-1.5. Merrimack regained the advantage in game four by a 222-189 margin, but A-State answered once again 187-180 to tie it up at 2.5-2.5. Merrimack took game six by one pin, 196-195, on the final shot of the game to lead 3.5-2.5. A-State forced a roll-off winning game seven 182-169 and Buchanan struck out in the 10th to clinch the match 115-85.
Vanderbilt and Merrimack meet in an elimination match at 8:00 a.m. (CT) with the winner meeting A-State at 2:00 p.m. (CT). If A-State wins the mega-match, the Red Wolves advance to the National Collegiate Championship next week in Allen Park, Mich. If A-State drops the mega-match, a Baker best-of-seven match immediately following the mega-match determines the winner.
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