Keeping it straight ... almost

COLDWATER - One gutter ball in a bowling match makes it rough to win.

But two gutter balls?

Tommy Jones threw two of them in the championship match of the PBA Bowlerstore.com Classic on Friday night at Pla-Mor Lanes in Coldwater, but knocking down eight strikes allowed him to defeat Sean Rash 215-179 to win the $10,000 top prize.

"I threw six gutter balls this week. I can't remember ever doing that," said Jones, hailing from Simpsonville, South Carolina. "All in all, it was a good week."

Jones entered the stepladder round seeded second behind Rash, which gave him a bye to the semifinal.

The first match of the stepladder featured two former Coldwater champions in defending champion Jakob Butturff against 2012 winner Dick Allen. Butturff used four straight strikes down the stretch to hold off Allen 205-200 to move on to face Jones.

The oil pattern on the lanes hampered both bowlers, but Jones was able to find a groove and move on into the title match with a 231-184 decision.

The final started uneventful through the first four frames. Jones threw strikes in his first four frames while Rash sandwiched a 9-spare in the second frame around three strikes.

The fifth frame proved pivotal. Rash was stuck with a 7-10 split on his first throw, picking up one of the pins to go with a nine. Jones had an opportunity to take a big step in putting the match away, but his first ball hugged the right edge and ended up in the gutter. Jones calmly knocked all the pins down on his second ball for a spare and then threw back-to-back strikes in the sixth and seventh frames.

"These two lanes (used in the finals) were different in how they play," said Jones. "The right lane was tighter to the right, so you try to keep it in. I got one going (into the gutter). The left lane, you had to go all the way around. If there was a lane I thought I'd gutter on, it would be the left. I got them both. I didn't want to discriminate."

Rash threw a spare-strike-spare in frames sixth through eighth before Jones was bit by the gutter ball again, this time in the left lane. The second ball picked up just nine pins, leaving him with his first open frame of the match.

Rash suffered another split in the ninth frame and collected a nine. Jones threw a strike in the ninth frame and then started the 10th with a strike to clinch the match.

"I was fortunate enough that Sean didn't get many breaks in the title match where the gutter balls didn't hurt me," said Jones.

Jones, who was making his first trip to Coldwater, had high praise for Pla-Mor, the Hartings family, who own the lanes and as the community and fans.

"For being a small town and small venue, the people showed up. It was awesome," said Jones. "Every time we come to a small town, it's better for us. They treat us unbelievably and you meet so many people that make an impact on us. We'll remember their names and faces the next year."

Rash earned $5,000 for second place. Allen picked up $2,500 with Butturff collecting $2,250.

Pla-Mor will stay busy this weekend with the PBA50 Tour playing a tournament. Qualifying takes place today with the final rounds concluding Sunday.