BOWLING: Sal Diaz joins elite Mesquite bowling group with an electrifying 2nd 300 game

Sal Diaz began his bowling journey in the 2021-22 season and after 84 games finished with a 148 average. And his game continued gaining altitude in his sophomore campaign which he finished with a 179 average over 84 games.

And his 2023-24 season proved to be a true breakout one in which he finished with an impressive198 average and putting him on the cusp of becoming a bona fide scoring juggernaut whenever he’d step on the approach with his dynamite two-handed delivery.

And this season he’s cemented his scoring juggernaut status with numerous 600s, multiple 700s including a season-high 732 along with his first 300 game on November 20th, 2024, and his current average in the Mesquite Men’s Merchants league is 208.

So it’s not surprising his latest round of pyrotechnics is the cherry atop all of his previous standout league outings and for those fellow league bowlers who witnessed it they probably thought it was somewhat akin to a July 4th fireworks as his powerful two-handed delivery seemingly exploded the 1-3 pocket for 12 strikes and his 2nd 300 game.

And with his second perfecto, he became just the 6th bowler to throw two 300 games in Mesquite bowling. The other five are: Doug Love, Mike Saldivar, Dave Maves, along with Milan Carr and Rob Hartman.

And an even rarer club is the one made up of the late Darwin Wimer and Scott Mattingly who are the only bowlers who’ve rolled three perfecto’s in Mesquite bowling. And with his confidence soaring, and the way he’s throwing the rock at the pocket these days, it wouldn’t be one bit of a surprise if Diaz joined Wimer & Mattingly with a third 300 before bidding adieu to the 2024-2025 season.

Another window into both his scoring juggernaut status and just how dialed in he was on the night of his second 300 is the fact he was just one pin away from also throwing a jaw-dropping 9 pin no-tap 900 series. Both of his first two games were 9 pin no-tap 300s, and the first time he left two pins on the night was in the 8th frame of his third game before eventually finishing with a 9 pin no-tap 868 series. Doug Love who still has a legit shot at a 3rd Mesquite 300 once bowled an eye-popping 872 9 pin no-tap series.

Away from bowling, Diaz loves skateboarding which he began doing when he was 13, and only stopped when he was 18 because Mesquite didn’t have a skate park. Well, a park for skateboarders just opened up in Mesquite and he’s stoked about it, will be using it, and Shane O’Neill is his favorite pro skateboarder. He also loves playing video games with friends, and also loves cars made in Japan with his favorite a Toyota mk4 supra.

In other pin action, Austin Finster’s been a beast on the lanes for most of the season and it was more of the same last week for his Venuti Woodworking team as he pummeled the lanes for a 738 set including 11 strikes in a 275 and another nine in a 268.

And Ricky Trujillo, powered by 24 strikes including a seven-bagger in a clean 256 delivered his third 700 of the season, a 716, and you can pencil in more 700s before the clock runs out on the 2024-2025 season, and Orlyn Meyer gave the scoring monitors a workout in the Early Risers League en route to a standout 706 with a 258 game and increasing his league average two pins to 200.

Meanwhile, Duane Sullivan of the G3 Golf team began a memorable MMM League play with games of 225 and 222, and then put an exclamation point on a standout effort in a riveting third game that went down to the final two frames when a pivotal strike in the 9th followed by a clutch spare and strike on his fill ball in the 10th for a 257 paved the way for his career-first 700 series, an electrifying 704 with only one open frame and 25 total strikes.

And Mike Yoder put up a top-notch 698 effort which featured marks on all nine of his non-split spare shots along with 21 strikes in games of 244, 235, 219, and Michael “Smurffzzz” Ramirez continued a blistering scoring pace with a 691 set on games of 247, 238, 206 during which he threw 22 strikes with only one open frame. And his 220.73 is currently the high average in the MMM League.

Frank Addamo has put together some explosive scoring outings in recent weeks and that includes his City High Rollers League season-high 683 on games of 241, 233 and 209 which raised his average to183 from 179. And his latest scoring feast also proved pivotal as his Up Your Average team booked the week’s highest scratch team game of 856 in game two led by his 241, along with Shaun Edwards’ (614) 216, Gil Niimi’s (639) 205, and Gayla Ruesch’s (485) 194. Not surprisingly, his team also now has the league’s high team scratch series with a 2421.

And Addamo continued his first-rate scoring production two nights ago in the Monday Scratch League with another 683 series which included 11 strikes in a 279 gem.

In other action, Dan Aslin (681-234, 225, 222) had his best night on the lanes since his recent return to the lanes after missing most of the season due to an arm injury, Ernie Kala’s 673 included 19 strikes including an eight-bagger in a 255, while Dean Baum’s 667 included 22 strikes along with a clean 255, and in Steve Serrano’s competitive 650 series he tossed 18 strikes, but even more impressive is the fact he had marks on 18-of-19 spare attempts.

Randy Carter (646-256) delivered his best outing since his 300 game last season, Russ Marshall’s 617 featured 21 strikes in his games of 213, 205, 199 and raised is CHR League average two sticks to 170, and U.S. Navy veteran Fred Emmons eclipsed a previous season-high 603 with a heckuva nice 610 and 247 game with a seven-bagger.

And Dale Davidson’s 609 gives him back-to-back 600-plus series scores, and Jedd Fisher’s  608 is impressive in that he made 18 of his spare shots out of a possible 19, and along with 12 strikes, a clean 222 and a pair of 193s he tossed a 608 series.

Finally, Jadon Borges is an impressive young man who has some excellent bowling mechanics and just tossed his first 600, a 602 on games of 204, 201, 205, and Steve Roberts fell a mark shy of a 600, but still tossed two good games of 224 and 209 along with 18 total strikes in  a still good 592 series which bumped his CHR League average two sticks higher to 174.

In single game play, Felix Cruz (713) fired 23 total strikes on Monday including 10 in a 289 gem, Mike Saldivar (666) ran the front eight in a 268, while Bruce Hooley (670) cranked out a 264 with nine strikes, and Randy Carter’s (646)  is his best game since a 300 last season.

Logan Hendrick (664) popped eight strikes in a clean 254, while Dave Johnson’s 254 came with 10 strikes and one open frame, and Doug Love (644) booked a 250 and he still has a legit shot at a record-tying third 300 game in Mesquite.

John Martin (691) pounded out nine strikes in a clean 249 on Monday night, Doug Schaan smacked nine strikes with one open in a 242, while both Jim Lytle and Mike Bock tossed a clean 236, and James Hartley’s 686 included 22 strikes and a seven-bagger in a 236.

Tyler Martin uses a one-handed delivery and tallied eight strikes in a 233 and he served in the U.S. Marine Corps, Dale Knight logged a 232 with seven strikes including a four-bagger, while Skip Hayzlet shot a clean 229 with a five-bagger, and Ken Meacham, a huge LA Dodgers fan racked up six strikes in a clean 226.

And avid UNLV sports fan, Nick Paul logged a clean 224 with six strikes, and like Paul, Rob Cormani also rolled a clean 224, Curtis Miller gets his first ink in this column for 223 with six strikes, and Bill Smith will take more games like his 221.

Ronnie Montoya tossed a season-high 220 with seven strikes, Wade Heileson pocketed a 217, and Tony Urias tallied a 216 with six strikes along with a clean 211.

Martin Carrillo tossed a six-bagger in a 212 and racked up six strikes in a 200, Dan Johnson who hails from Beave Dam also popped a 212, and Phil Goulding captures his first ink this season for a 212 with five strikes and only one open frame.

And master artist and painter Ken Kaylor tossed six strikes including a five-bagger in a 211 effort, Angel Hernandez chucked a 208 with seven strikes and look for him to end a recent scoring funk in the days ahead, and Humberto Arias worked the lanes for a 206.

Mike Dunlop punched out a 205 and his189.35 average in the MMM League has him locked in a tight race with Dick Lonick for the Most Improved Average, and Red Powell, the Salt Lake City bowling Hall of Famer popped a clean 205.

Finally, John Gerger fired five strikes in a clean 204 and he hails from the Windy City and is also a super computer whiz, Jose Martinez gets ink for a 202 and with practice on his game given the revs on his hook ball, he can be throwing lotsa deuce games, and Efrain Carrillo fell a stick shy of a 200, but finished with a still nice 199.

In women’s action, Cathy Gardner set the scoring pace with a 614 increasing her average two pins to 174 and if she begins throwing a hook ball her game has serious upside.

Meanwhile, Cheryl Rogers peppered the lanes with a pair of good games, a 209 and 204 in a 584 set, and sparked by a 223, Diane Marget also booked a 584.

Vickie Martinsen (562-211) continues putting up competitive scores, and Gayle Parison continued a month-long run of nice 500 series scores with her latest a 548 which included seven strikes in a 224.

And Sheila Green’s (545-196) best outing in the Tuesday Trio League this season may just be the catalyst igniting a run of even higher scores, and both Mary Ann Davis (33-196) and Lee Ann Harmes (532-187) booked some solid scores

In single game action, Debbie Hansen peppered the lanes with the week’s high game, a clean 238 with seven strikes, Bev Cormani (564) delivered five strikes and five spares in a clean 222, while Sandy Sheppard (592) tossed seven strikes in a 211, and Jamie Turlington’s (507) nice hook ball led to a clean 209 with nine strikes and three spares.

Gayla Ruesch pocketed a 195, Cher Erhart tossed a clean and season-high 194, while Maurine Schuman tallied 192 and she was a good friend of he late, Bessie Roberts, and it was great seeing Deb Paul toss a 180 game with five strikes, and on a weekly basis she brings a large bowl packed with a variety of candy snacks that bowlers absolutely love her for and appreciate her efforts with that.

Alfred Oliveira V 609-225; Dale Knight 232; Jacoby Ford 219; Jonny Manning 211;  Al Oliveira IV 210.

Kelly Williamson 684-233; Randy Brown 682-235; Dan Aslin 681-123; Milan Carr 676-247; Bpb Wells 672-247 Scott Mattingly 654-231; Dean Sheppard 649-222; Alan Jacobson 645-236; Darren Simonds 644-257; Bob Marget 641-232; Dave Castro 639-235; Gil Niimi 639-257; Dave Houghton 637-232; Al Gans 635-230; Sal Diaz 630-258; Russ Marshall 617-213; Steve Uhrig 616-208; Gary Smith 615-246; Shaun Edwards 614-216; Dave Pershing 614-213; Dale Davidson 609-220; Jimmy Webb 609-220; John Hollaway 606-246; Dennis Craft 605-228; Jadon Borges 605-204; Bob Robbins 602-224; Bryan Pierce 602-233; Mike Bock 236; Jim Lytle 236; Dave Cirbo 234; Dave Harris 233; Mike Gentry 228; Rob Cormani 224; Bob Ballard 224; Javier Delgadillo 223; Jeff Harmes 221; Bill Smith 221; Mike Foote 219, 214; Jeff  Branche 218; Wade Heileson 217; Bobby Dixon 216; Jared Bundy 215; Vic Reading 214; Alan Pearson 214; Roman Perez 213; Jan “Kooz” Kusy 213; Raul Macias 212; Phil Goulding 212; Dan Johnson 212; Chris Scott 211; Randy Kezior211; Harry Uncles 211; Jeremy “JT” Turlington 208; Angel Hernandez 208; Humberto Arias 207; Tim Usher 206; Ken Thompson 206; Robert Melendez 205; Adam Lemus 203; Jose Martinez 202; George Huston 202; Brian Rasha 201; Max Snyder 201; Mark Brackelsberg 201; Jim Rappe 201; Larry Willis 200.

Autumn Telford 572-223, Reiko Schultz 524-286 and Krista Kilpatrick 197.