Surdich on Bowling: Koivuniemi wins PBA Viper in Las Vegas

• In the second of five events in the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling, Mika Koivuniemi won his 14th career title by defeating newcomer Connor Pickford 224-214 in the PBA Viper Championship in Las Vegas.

In the fourth frame, the top-seeded Pickford left the 2-4-6-7 split and failed to convert, but he followed with three strikes at the new South Point Bowling Plaza. Koivuniemi had to throw three strikes in the 10th frame to win the championship.

The PBA has a new format with a three-player shootout. The shootout winner then bowls the top seed. During their shootout, Koivuniemi rolled a 221, Ronnie Russell a 190 and Dom Barrett a 126. The payout had Koivuniemi earning $20,000 and Pickford $10,000.

Remember, the PBA is on ESPN every Sunday at 10 a.m.

Black Oak seniors

The senior no-tap scheduled for this Friday at Black Oak Lanes has been moved to Jan. 9. Signups start at 12:30 p.m., and the first ball rolls at 1:30. Entry fee is $15 for three games of 9-pin no-tap and includes your high game pot for men and women.

It fills fast, so contact Sandy at (209) 928-9437 to reserve your spot.

Cal-State Seniors

Checks have started to roll in for local bowlers who placed in the 45th annual California State Seniors at McHenry Bowl and Yosemite Lanes in Modesto in October and November.

Locals outdid themselves this year. I’ll have the names and money winnings next week. Next year, the tournament moves to Fresno.

Scratch 6-gamer TOC

The Tournament of Champions lineup is set for Yosemite Lanes’ scratch 6-gamer monthly winners.

They had 19 bowlers Sunday on the PBA Shark pattern, and the final was won by Rick Francis of Modesto over Rich Custer 236-225. Francis ran up the ladder by defeating Cris Perreira 225-215 and Gregory Thompson Jr. 235-213 to get to the championship match. The win was good for $285; Custer earned $210.

The TOC field is set to bowl Sunday at noon. Six patterns on six pairs will be used, and the top 12 will cash with $1,000 added to the TOC.

I received a note from Yosemite owner Jim Gordin inviting Atwater bowler Neill Barcellos up to roll in the scratch 6-gamer in February. Barcellos recently bowled a 300 game as part of a sanctioned 814 series. Said Gordin, “Have Neill bring money.”

Oops …

I had a typo last week regarding the association’s top all-time scratch series. I had Ken Romer’s series listed at 775; it should have read 855 rolled in 1975. Nearly 40 years ago, Romer set the record for the Merced Men’s Bowling Association on wooden lanes, a different type of lane oil, and he probably was rolling a hard rubber ball from Brunswick, called the Black Beauty. Can you imagine bowling at a 285 clip to roll his 855? Amazing.

New Year’s Eve

Today, 27 local bowlers will be at McHenry for their annual senior tournament, New Year’s Eve in Paris. The party starts at 11:30 a.m. with a buffet lunch, and bowling starts at 12:30 p.m. Missing from the group will be regulars Johnel and Dee Maryland, who were involved in an automobile accident last week.

Bellevue Bowl is having its New Year’s party with Family Moonlight Bowling for kids and parents at 6:30 p.m. Their adult party starts at 10 p.m. and includes breakfast after midnight. I hear there is still room to sign up and ring in the New Year. Call the desk at Bellevue at (209) 358-6466.

Et cetera

▪ To all my readers, have a great New Year in 2015.

League scores and series will be up next week.

This story was originally published December 30, 2014 at 6:47 PM with the headline "Surdich on Bowling: Koivuniemi wins PBA Viper in Las Vegas."