Rose Garden Bowl and Viking Valhalla Restaurant

Batavian James Townsend said he was extremely nervous during the eliminator finals of the 14^th annual Triple O Mechanical Singles Handicap Tournament on Sunday at Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen.

Judging by his prolific bowling, however, you wouldn’t have believed him as the 23-year-old strapping right-hander powered his way to the title, defeating veteran kegler Jerry Blair of Le Roy in the title match, 269-232.

Townsend received 11 pins handicap (based on his 212 average) while Blair – won earned $250 – received nine pins handicap (based on his 214 average). Strikes in the seventh, eighth, ninth and on the first two balls in the 10th frames sealed the victory for the Batavian.

The victory was worth $500 for Townsend, an employee in the automotive department at Walmart and a “graduate” of the Turnbull Heating Junior League at his hometown Mancuso Bowling Center.

“After I made the cut (qualifying 14^th with a 717 series -- 684 scratch), I was tremendously nervous,” said Townsend, who has put in the time to improve his game over the past couple years. “I’ve been shaking this entire time.”

His jitters didn’t affect his performance as he continually put his high-revving bowling ball in the 1-3 pocket and struck at a high rate to advance through the four rounds of the finals.

His scratch scores in the finals were 238, 245, 259 and 258. In the first round, he struck out in the 10^th frame to advance, edging John Martorella Sr. of Rochester by three pins.

“I’ve been working on making adjustments on the lane and I’m really starting to develop my game and get smooth at the line,” Townsend said. “Being able to get to the line so smoothly has been the key to developing my game. I slowed down my arm swing, my arm speed and my ball speed, and that’s helped me to focus on each shot.”

He credited his improvement to the instruction offered as a youth bowler by his father, Paul, and more recently, by Brian Green, owner of Striking Effects Pro Shop at Mancuso’s.

“They’ve helped me and, basically, everyone has been on my side and I thank everybody very much,” said Townsend, who noted that he “lit the place up” after switching to the Roto Grip Haywire ball for the 3 p.m. qualifying squad after failing to make the cut on the 12:30 squad.

Reaching the semifinals, and earning $125 apiece, were Devon Leach of Batavia and Mark Brown of Attica.

Quarterfinalists ($80 each) were defending champion Mickey Hyde of Le Roy, Mark Mack of Le Roy, Ricky Zinone of Rochester and Marty Lindner of Scottsville. Hyde was the high qualifier with 801 for three games (771 scratch).

Those eliminated in the first round ($50 apiece) were Martorella, Jeff Dewar of Rochester, Sam Oddo of Batavia, Frank Fitzmaurice of Rochester, Pat Bruton of Rochester, Jim Pursel of Batavia, Ken Wilson of Batavia and Don Perrault of Rochester.

Fitzmaurice rolled a 300 game in the USBC-certified tournament that drew 66 entrants. The top 16 earned prize money.

Photo: Tom Sardou, left, proprietor of Rose Garden Bowl, congratulates James Townsend, first place, and Jerry Blair, second place, following Sunday's Triple O Mechanical Singles Handicap Tournament. Photo by Mike Pettinella.

Press release:

The North Bergen Community Food Pantry and the Bergen business, Rose Garden Bowl, have worked together to assure that more than 100 area children experience some of the magic of the holidays in the form of Christmas stockings this year.

This is the second year that the two organizations have collaborated on their Christmas Angel Stocking Program, soliciting donations of stockings filled with toys and personal items.

Donations are being made by bowling league members and patrons of Rose Garden Bowl, members of the North Bergen Presbyterian Church and the First Presbyterian Church of Byron congregations, and local families.  

The number of stockings donated has more than doubled — from 45 in 2019 to 109 stockings in 2020. In all more than 60 generous donors have gathered items for the stockings that will be distributed to 47 families. Recipients of the stockings are largely families that are clients of the North Bergen Food Pantry.   

 “We’ve seen a 100-percent increase in patrons visiting the pantry since March,” said Dave Fish, pastor at the North Bergen Presbyterian Church that organizes the Pantry services. “There has always been, and will always be, need in our community but the impact that COVID is having on families in our region is devastating.

"It’s the pantry's mission to lessen that impact by feeding both body and spirit. Assuring that children experience some of the magic of Christmas is an important ingredient of that mission.”  

“We believe in giving back to our community and was encouraged by the response of our Rose Garden Bowl family of patrons to our request for stocking sponsors this year” said Christina Sardou, co-owner at Rose Garden Bowl. “Initially I was concerned that the number of people who could participate might be affected by the pandemic, but the opposite was true. Peoples’ eagerness to assist has been both humbling and inspiring.”

The program started in 2019 when Sardou suggested the idea of partnering on the program.

“Dave and I had had a few conversations about the Food Pantry and we had stored some surplus frozen foods for the pantry at times when their space was limited,” Sardou said. “During these conversations, I asked if he had considered doing something for local children at Christmas, and described how the Church and the Rose Garden Bowl family and friends might collaborate to create a Christmas stocking drive. The rest is history.” 

The North Bergen Community Food Pantry — North Bergen Presbyterian Church, 7068 N. Bergen Road, Bergen. Pantry hours: the third and fourth Wednesday of each month from 6 to 8 p.m. and the third and fourth Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. For more information visit the Pantry’s Facebook page.

Rose Garden Bowl and Viking Valhalla Restaurant — 21 Buffalo Road, Bergen. (585) 494-9900). Family-owned and operated since 1954. For more information about banquets, bowling and volleyball, visit rosegardenbowl.com or on Facebook.