Scott Mattingly wins another high-average title in Mesquite bowling

The 2022-23 season in Mesquite bowling is in the books.

And with the grind of the season over, this column continues with coverage of outstanding individual and team achievements from this past season.

And the most coveted individual achievement recognized in this column for the past six seasons is winning the high-average title, and for the third consecutive season, Scott Mattingly has bragging rights to wining the title with a 222 average compiled in the Mesquite Merchants Men’s League.

He ushered in the season back in September with a 686 series for a 228 average which led all bowlers and never relinquished the lead over the next 27 weeks.

And next, let’s take a deeper dive into the specifics of his scores as the season unfolded. For starters, he mowed down a total of 16,032 pins over 72 games, of which 56 were 200-plus. And over his 24 weeks of bowling, he blistered the lanes with a 600-plus series in 16 of those weeks, threw a 700 series in seven others, along with a pair of uncharacteristic 500-plus series scores.

And in one of his other leagues he almost threw a 2nd 300 in his three years of bowling in Mesquite before finishing with a season-high 297, and also shot a season-high 761. And he will be aiming for a four-peat in the 2023-24 season, and if he keeps pounding the 1-3 pocket with the rock like he has the past three seasons, he’s gonna be difficult to beat in the high-average race for the next three years.

Mattingly’s eye-popping resume includes a jaw-dropping 24 perfect 300 games, a trio of 800s, and when he was 10-years-old he appeared on television in Tacoma, Washington and won his match in a Junior Masters Bowling Tournament before losing to the eventual winner.

Mattingly is a huge fan of the Seattle Seahawks and the University of Washington Huskies, and his dad, Jeff Mattingly competed for eight years on the PBA Tour and bowled in 18 nationally televised Finals matches, and many can be seen on YouTube.

Mike Saldivar finished with the next highest average, a 211, and his outstanding season included a 300 game, a season-high 752 series, and he still holds the record for the highest series ever bowled at the Virgin River Bowling Center, a 795. John Hollaway is a terrific bowler who booked the 3rd best average at the VRBC this season with a 207 and chucked a season-high 752 series.

Al Gans is still a top-notch bowler who’s compiled a standout resume over the years including 13 300 games and finished the season with a 204 average. Jim Lytle also finished the year with a 204 and he’s been averaging over a deuce or within a point or two of it for 40 years, and he only brings two bowling balls with him for bowling.

Meanwhile, Doug Love finished the 2022-23 campaign with a 202 average and still has a legit shot next season of throwing a 3rd 300 game at the VRBC, and Dean Baum who enjoyed great success for years bowling in Salt Lake City, ended the season with a 202 average, while Mike Rogers proved again he’s still one of the best in Mesquite after finishing with a 200 average and also tallied a season-high 289 game.

After Saldivar’s 300 and Mattingly’s 297, a compelling case can be made that the most impressive other game this season was Steve Serrano’s 288, which was actually the highest single scratch game of the season in the Wednesday Merchants Men’s League, and this is the league with all the top bowlers in it going right down the list from Mattingly, Saldivar, Hollaway, Gans, lytle and the like.

Serrano was a top-notch basketball player during his heyday on the court in high school and college in California, and look for even more explosive games and outings from him in the 2023-24 season.

Steve Serrano 332; Rob Cormani 327; Juan Morgana 322; Bob Robbins 322; Ken Kaylor 318; John Gerger 317; Ron Johnson 316; Sal Diaz 311; Ray Morrison 307; Ron Sheets 304; Larry McCubbin 304.

Robert Melendez 850; Bruce Hooley 841; Sal Diaz 841; Brian Collins 834; Mike Bock 830; Rick Jones 828; Josue Mendoza 825; Jerry Holloway 815; Bryan Pierce 807; Ivan Trujillo 806.

Michael “Smurffzzz” Ramirez 20.67; Mike Bock 20.61; Jeff Harmes 19.75; John Gerger 18.85; Frank Addamo 18.17; Ken Safranek 17.66; Rod Averett 17.61; Ron Johnson 17.3. Wade Heileson 14.63; Josue Mendoza 14.03.