Surdich on Bowling: USBC bans two bowling balls

By now, most of our bowlers know the USBC revoked approval of two Motiv bowling balls and had them removed from the list of approved balls effective March 15.

Several Jackal and Jackal Carnage balls exceeded the maximum gyration standards during spot checks. These two balls cannot be used in USBC-certified competition.

The California State Bowling Association has banned the balls from the Open and Women’s State Championships at Lake Forest and the Pepsi USBC Youth Championships on May 7-8 in Fountain Valley.

More about the banned balls can be read on bowl.com.

Black Oak no-tap news – It looks as if Modesto’s Betty Gerritsen liked the lanes at Black Oak in Toulumne during the April Fools Senior No-tap last Friday. She started in the women’s division by placing second in the first high-game side pot with a handicap 316 (winning $10), then was first in the second high-game side pot with a 299 ($16). Gerritsen also took first overall in series with an 879 ($51), giving her $77 total in her pocket. I hope she had her luck upstairs on the slots.

Friday will be the senior handicap 9-pin no-tap at McHenry Bowl in Modesto. Bowling starts at 1 p.m. There is a pot-luck at noon with check-in at 12:30 p.m. Entry fee is $15.

Hall of Fame dinner is coming – The annual Merced County Hall of Fame dinner, sponsored by our local association, will be held April 16 at the Atwater Community Center. Prizes will be given out during the raffle and auctions. A special raffle for two 40-inch TVs will be held.

Tickets for the dinner are $20 and are on sale at the desk at Bellevue Bowl and by all association directors. No tickets will be sold at the door.

League highlights – The Bellevue Seniors had Ron Labuga picking up the big 4-6-7-10 split. ... Mike Giordano rolled a 757 in the Central Valley Nisei league. ... David Garcez rolled a 254 in the Commercial Classic. ... The Friday Handicap had Tom Brewer with a 255/660.

Friendship Doubles – Coming up this Sunday is the Merced/Atwater Women’s 500 Club’s yearly handicap 9-pin no-tap Friendship Doubles at 1 p.m. Doubles teams will consist of a local 500 club member and a female non-member guest. All bowlers must be a current USBC member.

You will bowl three games of 9-pin no-tap on one pair of lanes. Your 2014-15 book average will be used; if none, then a current average of 21 games or more verified by your league secretary will suffice.

Entry is $22 per bowler, and one in five will be paid. Club members are asked to wear their club shirts and bring finger food. Closing day is Friday at 6 p.m. If you have questions, contact tournament director Julie Wescott at 209-564-6856.

The 10th frame – Percy Ortiz, 92, died last week. Ortiz, was a longtime bowler who retired from the game before his time. He worked at Sunshine Farms for years alongside his bowling partner, Joe Plant, who was in charge of the truck shop. Ortiz bowled on the Sunshine team in the All-Star Scratch league at Century Bowl. I bowled with Ortiz along with Plant and Howard Hamilton.

A Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Merced. Percy was a good guy and a great bowler.

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Surdich on Bowling: USBC bans two bowling balls."