ROCKAWAY TWP. – The best bowler in Tuesday’s Madison-Chatham NJAC matchup wore a maroon and yellow shirt. But it was the team in the blue shirts that came out on top.
Madison’s Jason Maulbeck bowled a 576 in the three-game match, but his efforts were not enough to lift the Dodgers to a win over the rival Cougars. Chatham swept all three games by scores of 752-676, 754-698 and 842-592.
The Cougars’ depth proved too much for Madison – all five Chatham bowlers averaged at least 139 pins per game, while only two Dodgers could meet that target.
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Still, it was Maulbeck, who bowled a 296 in the Bishop Ahr Classic in North Brunswick Sunday , who was the standout performer of the match.
Maulbeck’s powerful, fast bowling resulted in multiple runs of two or more strikes in Thursday’s match, Madison’s third in NJAC play this season. He started game one with six strikes in the first eight frames, and finished with a 216, nine pins above his NJAC average entering Tuesday.
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In game two it was Maulbeck and Connor Smith who kept Madison within shouting distance of the balanced Cougars. Maulbeck started off strong, reaching a total of 114 pins through five frames, before settling down to finish with a strong 191. Smith recorded four straight strikes beginning in the seventh frame to finish with a 179, six pins short of his season high and 24 pins above his season average.
Chatham dominated game three behind a 203-pin effort by Alex Monks, as well as a score of 195 from Bailey Bancroft. Bancroft recorded Chatham’s series high, knocking over 500 pins.
By picking up all seven points Tuesday, the Cougars improved their season record to 10-11 after three weeks, while the Dodgers dropped to 2-19.
