The Alcofrolics beat Spartans with an incredible last ball comeback victory in their 480-479 win in the One Eyed Jacks’ Summer League on Tuesday evening.
Coney Hill star Ryan Morgan finished with a 12-spare to score 81 and win the game by a single pin after winning eight of the 10 legs in the second half.
After the game, Alcofrolics captain Naomi Willetts said, “What an incredible win. The game was so close and to win by one pin overall made it a thrilling and captivating game right up to the last ball thrown.
“We were cheering and clapping and it was a joyous moment.”
After a poor first half from the Gloucester-based side, the Alcofrolics found themselves 33 pins behind going into the second half.
The second half for the away side slowly started to chip away at the lead and after six of the 10 legs, they trailed by only 15 with four legs to go.
With the Alcofrolics winning the toss, they decided to go first which meant they would be chasing in the second half, allowing them to see what their opponents scored first, allowing for extra motivation.
After both teams struggled due to the pressure in the penultimate leg, the Spartans had a lead of five pins, and by the time they’d bowled their final leg, the Alcofrolics knew they needed a 34 pin leg to win the match.
Willetts, stepped up first and with her first ball, she took six pins, she hit the front and it took the front five triangle plus the back left quarter.
Unfortunately for the 34 year old, she missed the spare but with her final ball, swept up the remaining pins and scored a nine.
Katie Johns and Lee Morgan scored 13 combined, which meant the Alcofrolics had 22 pins scored, and needed a total of 34 to win the game.
The anchor (the player that goes last in your team) Ryan Morgan faced the improbable task of needing a 12-spare to win the game.
His first ball took the round eight, meaning every pin fell apart from the middle, and with his second ball, he nailed the pin earning the spare and with his final ball, shot through the middle and took the three he needed for the 12-spare to win the game by one.
On Morgan’s performance, Willetts said, “I put Ryan as anchor because he’s a brilliant player, not only can he win us legs by knowing what we need, like tonight, but he also found the winning spare.
“I am an incredibly proud captain.”
The Alcofrolics have won two of their first three games in the 18-game season, their best start to a summer league campaign in four years.
With the scoring system of a point per leg won, with an extra five points handed to the winning team, the maximum points available is 25. The Alcofrolics scored 16 and a half points last night.
Winning isn’t the be all and end all for Willetts, “As a skittles team, we don’t mind not winning as we are a family team and we just love that this sport allows us to spend time together.”
