Westlake edges Buckeye boys bowling in tight varsity match

Westlake High School slipped past Buckeye 2,329-2,291 in a tightly contested boys varsity bowling match Wednesday at Medina Lanes, overcoming a big night from Buckeye anchor John Ambrose to pull out the road victory.

Ambrose turned in the top individual performance of the match for the Bucks, rolling games of 267 and 216 for a 483 series to pace the Buckeye lineup. Despite his effort and a strong set of Baker games, Buckeye came up 38 pins short in the final tally.

Behind Ambrose, Buckeye got balanced scoring throughout the varsity rotation. Carter Fry added a 383 series on games of 192 and 191, while Kevin Miller was close behind at 372 with games of 181 and 191. In single-game contributions, Alex Marconi posted a 179, Gavin Onyx added a 168, and Hunter Uehlein chipped in a 155 to round out the Bucks’ individual scores. SAW contributed a 140 game in the lineup.

Buckeye made its biggest push in the Baker portion of the match, where the Bucks strung together games of 207 and 204. The Baker total tightened what had been a narrow margin and briefly put pressure on Westlake heading into the final frames, but the visitors were able to match enough marks to hold on.

The combined individual and Baker efforts left Buckeye just shy of the comeback, underscoring how slim the margin for error can be in varsity competition. A handful of missed spares and split conversions proved to be the difference in a match that remained within striking distance throughout.

Buckeye will look to build on Ambrose’s standout series and the team’s strong Baker performance as it continues its varsity schedule, aiming to turn close losses like Wednesday’s into wins as the season progresses.