A pair of freshmen led the Valpo bowling team on the second day of action at the Bearcat Hammer Open Saturday, highlighted by the placement of Addy Bates (Cedar Park, Texas/Cedar Park) within the top-five of the individual standings, as the Brown and Gold registered a trio of victories.

How It Happened

-        Valpo opened Saturday’s action with a strong victory, taking down #7 Stephen F. Austin by an 894-817 final. In the first traditional match of her collegiate career, Bates rolled a 241 to lead the way in the win.

-        It didn’t matter which of the other seven teams Valpo faced in the second match slot, as it posted the tournament’s top score in that slot in a 990-906 win over Lewis. Bates posted her second consecutive team-best game with a 229, backed up by a 210 from sophomore Alexis Roof (Flint, Mich./Kearsley) and a 201 from freshman Kaylee Hodson (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn).

-        Valpo came up just shy of extending the winning streak to three matches, dropping a narrow 930-912 decision to host #1 McKendree in the third match of the day. Hodson led the Brown and Gold in that contest with a game of 207.

-        The fourth match slot saw Valpo get back to its winning ways, cruising to an 866-724 victory over Upper Iowa. Roof paced the victory with a 192, while Hodson was right behind her with a 190 game.

-        #18 Maryville bested Valpo in the final match of the day by a final score of 898-874. Freshman Claudio Santiago-Ramos (Coamo, P.R./Academic Ponce Interamericana) posted a 189 to lead the way versus the Saints, while senior Payton Bertermann (Grayslake, Ill./North) recorded a 188.

Inside the Action

-        Bates finished Saturday in fourth position among the bowlers who started all five traditional games with a 195.8 average, while Hodson started each of the final four matches and posted a 191.0 average.

-        As a team, Valpo finds itself in sixth place after the second day of action with a total pinfall of 4,310 pins.

-        Bates’ 241 in the opening win over Stephen F. Austin stood as Valpo’s top score of the day and was the day’s third-best individual game in the tournament field.

-        The win over the Lumberjacks marked the highest-ranked opponent taken down by the Brown and Gold since beating then-#6 Stephen F. Austin on Oct. 19, 2018 at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Invitational.

Next Up

Valpo (5-5) will close out its season-opening tournament on Sunday beginning at approximately 8:30 a.m. One last traditional team match will be followed by a pair of bracket best-of-seven baker matches to determine the final standings.