Our final tune-up for the season came against Albany. This match gave us an opportunity to fine tune the starting lineup heading into the season and iron out some processes heading into the season.

The boys noted early in the match that they were not very used to the difference in lane conditions at Tangi Lanes vs. what they were used to bowling in Baton Rouge. Our usual starters struggled a little against their expected performance level in game one but still managed to jump out to a 7-1 lead against Albany. The Jackets ended the first game with a 309 pin lead, a, feat they would replicate for the remainder of the match. The second game saw the best performance of the scrimmage after a couple of substitutions. Quincy Brown posted the high game of the day with a 233. Game three allowed us to sit our 5 and 6 bowlers. We were able to comfortably play all 8 players and keep a consistent level of performance.

The Jacket boys finished with a 24-3 final advantage over the home Albany Hornets. Gabriel Eunice led the boys averaging 193 for the day with games of 187 and 199.

The girls faced a competitive Albany squad that finished 10-2 the prior season.

The girls started out with good games compared to their averages. Audrey Cedotal led the way out of the gate with a solid 181. Still it wasn’t enough in game one as Albany took a 7-1 advantage for the early lead. Just like the boys, game 2 proved to be the best overall game for the girls. Isabelle Duval bowled a 142 to lead the low lane and Audrey Cedotal followed up her hot start with a 175. The girls took 3 games in the second stanza. The final game was a small step back, but still saw solid performances from Isabelle Duval (149) and Audrey Cedotal throwing a match high 190.

The girls lost by a score of 6-21 to the home Albany hornets.  Audrey Cedotal led the girls with a 182 average on the day posting games of 181, 175, 190 for a 546 series.

The live stream was a mixed bag. The phone we were using to stream with was not taking a charge and died. We were also tethered to a side wall and plagued by slow internet. The venue is not ideal for livestreaming due to their COVID setup. There are lessons we learned to improve the stream. Look for that to improve for the first boys match on Monday.

Girls team prepared to take on Albany in our last scrimmage before the season starts.

Our preseason began Monday against Dutchtown at All Star Lanes in Baton Rouge. Denham Springs entered the matchup with a depleted roster on both the girls and boys side teaching the valuable pre-season lesson that deep rosters are going to be a tremendous asset this season. The boys were short three starters and the girls were short two starters. The Dutchtown boys were also short a starter. So begins our COVID challenged season.

The Dutchtown boys proved in their first game that they are going to be able to hang with any team in the region dropping a stout 661 on their low lane to and a 1254 overall to jump out to a 7-1 advantage early that proved too much to overcome in the end. The Jackets closed the gap somewhat in game two and took game 3 by a margin of 6-2. Dutchtown won the scrimmage on the boys side by the final score of 18-9.

Starting 6 and junior Cade Fletcher led the team with three wins in the match and a 588 (205) series. Freshman Cooper Bush bowled his high game today with a 188 from the 3 spot.

The Dutchtown girls are returning a solid squad of mostly sophomores and you can see the team growth from last season based on their starting averages vs. their scrimmage performance. The girls match started off equally lopsided with a 7-1 decision for Dutchtown which they would repeat similarly for the remaining games. Dutchtown ended up taking the match 22-5. The girls team will face Dutchtown in the regular season.

Audrey Cedotal led the girls with a 467 (182) and finished with a 2-1 advantage in the 6 spot.

For both teams this was the first experience many bowlers have had with head to head competition outside of friendlies in practice. We shook off some nerves and look to an improved performance in our next scrimmage.

The Jackets will face off against Albany in the second scrimmage of the season at Tangi Lanes in Hammond on Jan 20. This will be a preview for the girls of a venue they will compete in later this season. For both teams it will be the final tune-up in preparation for the start of the season.

Cade Fletcher lines up for the strike against Dutchtown