If Sheldon Bayes could, he’d bowl as much as possible on lanes 9 and 10.
At his home Lakeside Bowling Centre in Salmon Arm, the 24-year-old righthander rolled eight strikes in a row on lanes 9 and 10.
At Lincoln Lanes in Vernon, where he competes in the Sunday night 7 to 9 p.m. league, Bayes recently rolled 10 strikes in a row – on lanes 9 and 10 – to record the first 400 game of his career, a 402.
“There’s something about those lanes, for sure,” said Bayes, who works at the Lakeside centre and commutes to Vernon for league play Sundays on his team Up Your Alley, which includes his dad, Cliff, uncle Herb Bayes and family friends Henry Veldhuis and John Van Eeden.
Bayes’ first 400 game was his third and final game of the evening. He had previously rolled games of 215 and 277, and started his third game with the never-popular chop-off (head pin, two- and three-pin).
He hit a two-pin with his second ball of the first frame and missed the standing three-pin with his last. In the second frame, Bayes rolled a left-corner-pin spare, then rattled off 10 strikes in a row.
“I wasn’t even aware of my score until the end of the game,” said Bayes. “I usually don’t pay attention to the score.”
Bayes, who carries a current average of 225 and is the current Lincoln Lanes bowler of the week, credits new Cyclone five-inch bowling balls for helping him slow down his delivery.
He will represent Salmon Arm at the upcoming Interior championships in Vernon and Kelowna.
He’ll also be back at Lincoln Lanes in September for the annual 400 Club provincial tournament, which brings together all bowlers who have rolled a 400 game in league play.