Local bowler breaks off 300 game

SANDPOINT — Much like a pitcher tossing a perfect game, nobody said a word to Sandpoint bowler Matt Stengel as he rolled strike after strike en route to a 300 game recently at a bowling tournament in Oldtown.

But just like when a pitcher finally gets to the ninth inning, when Stengel reached the vaunted 10th frame, with nothing but a string of X’s flashing next to his name on the bowling screen, the whole bowling alley had taken notice.

After all, 300 games don’t happen that often. In fact, there have only been 18 in the telivised history of the PBA.

“Nobody talked about it, but when I got to the 10th frame, the whole place went dead,” said Stangel, 34, a logger from Sandpoint. “I was so nervous I was vibrating.”

After rolling 11 consecutive strikes, it came down to one final throw — the only one that really mattered. Naturally, nerves played a factor as Stengel snapped off his final roll.

“The speed was off, everything was off. It was not a great shot, it just happened to take them all down,” said Stengel, adding that the place just exploded after the final strike. “It’s hard to explain. I was just trying to keep my focus.”

He backed the 300 game up with a 259 and a 185, for a Pro Bowling Association-esque 744 series. All told he averaged 214 for the nine games he bowled in the tournament at OK Lanes in Oldtown. Not bad work for a guy who carries a 172 average.

Stengel has been bowling since he was 8 years-old, and usually bowls once a week for the EFX team during the Thursday night league in Sandpoint. Prior to the perfect game, his best sanctioned score had been a 280, and he foresees himself flirting with a few more perfect games in the future.

“I love the laid back, fun and relaxing atmosphere,” explained Stangel of what he loves most about bowling, adding that wasn’t necessarily the case two weeks ago in Oldtown. “Then it’s not very relaxing.”