The New Age Beech Boys

The Road to Vegas – Part 2

Hi, I'm Adam Kramer, the new guy in the IT marketing department. You'll be seeing me at all the big tournaments and live events. I'm also responsible for stories about our games and the people who play them, so if you have an idea for a story - I would love to hear about it. You can reach me at akramer@itsgames.com.


The New Age Beech Boys

Beech Grove Expects to Continue Local Success in Vegas

Ken and Ron 300 Club
Ron Hammersley and Ken Carroll in their 300 Club Picture

A ping-pong guru and a bowling alley mechanic, sounds like it could be a sitcom.

However, Ron Hammersley, ex-competitive table tennis player, and Ken Carroll, local bowling alley handy man, both hope to put Beech Grove Indiana on the map.

These two not only qualified top 8 in the Northeast region in the Silver Strike Bowling National Championship, they did it in the same city, on the same machine. In fact at this very moment they're probably helping out one another with different looks, and trying out the different bowlers in the game. "The blue bowler has more break in his ball," says Ron. He's hoping this local knowledge translates to higher scores in Vegas.

Ron qualified an impressive 1st in the Northeast with a 279 average. He had hoped to qualify tops in the country, but fell short due to a hand injury that cost him a couple of weeks. While a 279 average is impressive, Ron has also bowled a dazzling 35+ 300 games, along with 40+ 800 series.

"I use to play competitive table tennis, but now that I'm a little older, I needed to switch games." Ron said.

Beech Grove Bowl

At 66 years of age, he laughed at the fact that he will undoubtedly be the oldest competitor in the field. While that may be true, anyone having those impressive Silver Strike accomplishments under his belt will certainly be considered one of the favorites for the title. And clearly nobody is laughing - except maybe for his local buddy turned Silver Strike opponent Ken.

Ken Carroll is the Beech Grove Bowl "Mr. Fix It." While his game may not be as accomplished as Ron's just yet, he finished an outstanding 5th in the Northeast with a 263 average.  Ken is also in the Silver Strike 300 Club, and has played in local Silver Strike leagues and tournaments.  When it comes to preparation he says that playing with Ron everyday is the best practice for Vegas anyone could have.

"I'm playing with the best player in the country every single day.  It helps to play with top competition, and I've gotten a lot better because of it."

The Beech Grove connection doesn't end there. Beech Grove Bowl's manager Scott Seach will also be attending the event in Vegas, but only as a bystander and supporter for his local buddies.  Scott qualified a very respectable 45th in the Northeast, but feels that if it weren't for a serious injury he might have cracked the top 8.

"I broke my wrist and had to have surgery," he said. "In the past few weeks I have started to get more feeling back, but my finger tips are still numb." Both Ron and Ken agreed and feel next year Beech Grove could get one more qualifier. Who knew that Beech Grove Indiana was such a powerhouse for virtual bowlers?  And yes, I am sure Scott would be happy to show you his scar.

With the tournament nearly here, IT marketing director Gary Colabuono has been adamant in his claim that we will see much lower scores in Vegas then we have in qualifying. He believes that the pressure will have an adverse impact on everyone. Scott on the other hand has a vastly different opinion.

"I will be shocked if Ron doesn't bowl a 300 in Vegas. I may even be ready to take bets on it."

Looks like Gary may have some action in the gambling capital of the world.

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Silver Strike Bowling National Championship.

The Slate is Clean. History Will be Made.