HARAHAN, La. (3/25/22) – The third-seeded Arkansas State bowling team opened play in the Southland Bowling League Championship Friday at Colonial Bowling Lanes and split the two matches.
 
A-State (69-34) opened the day with a 2-0 decision against sixth-seeded Stephen F. Austin. Behind four players rolling games over 200 in traditional play, the Red Wolves took the traditional team game 1,119-1,013. Faith Welch led the way with a game of 257 while Sarah Sanes (237), Brooklyn Buchanan (225) and Montana Meyer (201) rolled over 200. Emma Stull was just shy of 200, with a total of 199.
 
The Red Wolves closed out the mega match victory with a 1,073-1,049 margin in the Baker 5-game total pinfall. A-State took a 17-pin advantage in game one, 213-196, but SFA got 15 pins back in a 199-187 total in game two. A-State rolled an impressive 272 in game three and increased the advantage to lead by 40 with two games remaining. SFA took game four, 181-171 to trim the lead to 30, but the Red Wolves totaled 230 pins in the final game to finish with the 24-pin advantage.
 
A-State met second-seeded Vanderbilt in the second match of the day. The Commodores took a 1-0 lead with an impressive 1,205-1,008 team traditional total over the Red Wolves. Buchanan (247) and Welch (227) paced the Red Wolves in the traditional game, but Vanderbilt took the point.
 
The Red Wolves opened the Baker 5-game series with a plus-46 margin, 236-190 and came away with a 59-pin victory to send the match to a Baker best-of-seven series. Leading by 46 pins, A-State took game two 223-165 to lead by 104, but Vanderbilt trimmed the lead to 38 pins with margins of 248-199 and 214-197 in games three and four, respectively. A-State finished off the Baker 5-game total pinfall with a 224-203 margin to head into the Baker best-of-seven.
 
Buchanan filled up the 10th frame to secure a 218-191 start to the best-of-seven series in favor of the Red Wolves. Vanderbilt edged A-State 173-169 in game two and followed with a 208-201 margin to lead 2-1. The Commodores tacked on a 224-206 margin in game four to put the Red Wolves on the brink of defeat. Vanderbilt clinched the best-of-seven in game five, 267-201, to win the mega-match 2-1.
 
A-State takes on Tulane at 8:30 a.m. Saturday in an elimination match. The winner will face Vanderbilt at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. For the latest updates on A-State bowling, follow the team on Twitter (@AStateBowling), Facebook (/AStateBowling) and Instagram (@redwolvesbowling).
 

Original article source: https://astateredwolves.com/news/2022/3/25/womens-bowling-a-state-goes-1-1-in-opening-day-of-southland-bowling-league-championship.aspx | Article may or may not reflect the views of KLEK 102.5 FM or The Voice of Arkansas Minority Advocacy Council