BOWLING: With his latest 300 game, Sal Diaz is on the cusp of a record-breaking 4th Mesquite perfecto

Let’ assume for a minute the Virgin River Bowling Center has a Male Bowler of the Year Award. Well, if that were the case, for the 2024-25 season it would be no contest that Sal Diaz would be the unanimous choice to win the award.

It’s true, there are a number of bowlers who are having an outstanding season. However, none, at least until this point of the season has achieved what Diaz has. And it all began on November 20th 2024 when he tossed his first-ever 300 game. Next, not content with just one perfecto, he chucked a 2nd on January 29th, 2025.

And exactly one week ago today, he pummeled the VRBC with his third 300 this season, and the significance of his last one is he joined Scott Mattingly and the late Darwin Wimer as the only bowlers in Mesquite bowling history to have bowled three 300 games along with the fact he’s the only bowler to have rolled all three in one season. Beyond impressive!

So, in his third perfecto last week he also finished with a 720 series which raised his Mesquite Merchants Men’s League to 208 from 207.

And with his soaring confidence, and while not a slam dunk, becoming the all-time leader with a record-setting 4th 300 before bidding adieu to the 2024-25 season is certainly in play. You’ll wanna stay tuned on this possibility.

In other scintillating pin action, bowling a clean series doesn’t happen often. In fact, if you dig deep into the stats there’s been more 300 games this season than clean 700 series scores.

However, Mike Saldivar defied those odds by throwing 23 strikes and marks on all 11 of his spare shots in games of 256, 236 and 235 for a stellar 727 series, and a day earlier in King & Queens League action one recalcitrant 10 pin put the kibosh on second clean series in a 689 set with 23 strikes and marks on 10-of-11 spare attempts.

Meanwhile, Scott Mattingly, another member of the big-hit brigade piloted his way to a 709 including a 10 bagger in a 277 gem, and John Martin is a top-notch bowler who threw 22 strikes during games of 245, 238, and 225 in a 708 set and a hiccup on a 4 pin in his 225 game cost him a clean series in Monday’s Scratch League.

And Randy Brown was knocking pins down again to the tune of another 700 series, a 704 including clean games of 257 and 210 with 22 total strikes and his sole open came in the first frame came in his first game on Monday night, and Darren Simonds failed to convert two 7 pins which derailed a clean series but he still finished with an impressive 699 including a 10 bagger in a 263.

And Dave Pershing is a heckuva good bowler and golfer, and in his latest excursion into bowling excellence punched out 23 strikes in a terrific 689 outing with a clean 252 game raising his Kings & Queens League average to 201, while Dave Harris, fueled by 21 strikes and marks on 9-of-11 spare attempts racked up a hard-hitting 687 series on games of 236, 226 and 225, while southpaw Dennis Craft’s 22 strikes and marks on 8-of-9 non-split spare attempts paved the way for games of 241, 231 and 211, and before he retired and moved to St. George he was an elite runner in California races ranging from 5K’s to Marathons.

Doug Love who still bleeds the black & gold of the Pittsburg Steelers checked in with a 671 and the way he’s still throwing the rock has a legit shot at a third 300 game, Dean Baum hammered out a 662 on consistent games of 226, 225, 211, and Michael “Smurffzzz” Ramirez only had on open frame with marks on an impressive 15-of-16 non-split spare shots along with 15 strikes in a 653 effort.

In other action, Rob Cormani put together his best scoring output this season with a 651 series after bookending a 183 with clean games of 236 and 232 including 20 strikes and 11 spares, and if you want to know what the actor James Garner was like away from the camera he has some great recollections of him and other actors he worked with when he was a youngster earning a few bucks working as an in that entertainment arena.

And Tim Brandt makes the weekly trek from Cedar City, Utah to bowl on Monday nights and two days ago mowed down 646 pins throwing a clean 244 with a five-bagger along with games of 229 and 173 while chucking a total of 18 strikes. Brandt is passionate about bowling and he’s compiled an impressive list of achievements and scores in his years on the lanes. Along with being a perennial deuce average bowler for several decades which included winning the high-average title in St. George with a 220 average over 87 games in the 2002-03 season, Brandt also has a career-high 822 series, a 300, and multiple games ranging from 290 to 299.

Meanwhile, Shaun Edwards delivered a first-rate 639 series with 23 strikes raising his K&Q League average to 175 from 173, Dave Castro mowed down 627 pins, and Tony Urias navigated the lanes for a 626 series with 18 strikes including the front six in a 244 game, and given his powerful strike ball, rolling a 2nd 700 series along with taking out his season-high 276 are both doable before the clock runs out on the 2024-25 season.

And Paul Buntin a fan of the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights put together a heckuva good week with consistent games of 211, 203, 201 for a 616 series during which he threw 15 strikes which raised his K&Q League average two pins  to 170, and Mardon Connelly a former NCAA champion pole vaulter for Utah State University threw 17 strikes in a 612 series with a 233 game.

Finally, Jim Lytle’s 613 included consistent games of 209, 203, 201, Jeremy “JT” Turlington, an outstanding three-sport athlete at his Baltimore, Maryland where he was also won an all-city quarterback award rolled a 607 award on Monday, Max Snyder tossed 18 strikes in a 604 effort and he has a career-high 276 game and uses a thumbless one-handed delivery, and Larry Moultrie’s 598 fell two sticks shy of a 600 and he earns major kudos as he combined an amazing 17(not a typo) spares along with 11 strikes in a 598.

In the single game arena, Dylan Kesl (619) tossed 11 strikes in a 279, Mike Gentry (660) tallied a 268, while James Hartley (638) pocketed a clean 256, and Steve Serrano (612) posted a clean 254 with a five-bagger.

And hiker extraordinaire Dan Aslin (655) ran the front 7 in 254, Brian Collins (644) racked up a six-bagger in a clean 247, and Gary Smith who’s having a good season combined seven strikes and four spares on the way to a clean 247 and also had a 622 in the MS League two days ago.

Tim McNees logged a 227, Jerry Holloway fired seven strikes in a 226 with one open, and Dan Erhart merits ink for throwing six strikes and picking up four spares in a clean 223.

Brent Schlesinger uncorked a 223, Ken Thompson delivered a nice 221, Myles Benally chucked six strikes in a 215 and he’s still a Chicago Bulls fan, and Michael Donovan racked up a 215.

And Butch Loger who hails from Wyoming rolled a five-bagger in a 213, Bill Rife also registered a 213, while John Gerger spanked the lanes with a 212 and he has fond memories of attending Chicago Cubs games at Wrigley Field when he lived in the Windy City.

Wally Posey figured it was time for more ink so he smacked a 206, Jan “Kooz” Kusy rolled six strikes in a 205 and we won’t divulge how gawd-awful his first game was, and Robin Drury did good work tossing a clean 204 with four strikes and 6 spares.

Finally, John Windberg racked up seven strikes in a 202 and he had a career in law enforcement in Chicago, Richard Long put together a clutch five-bagger in a 201, Dustin Simsich snares ink for a 200 on the nose with four strikes, while Brandon Ayon an up-and-coming bowler popped five strikes in a 196, and William Collins who works in security at the Virgin River hammered out six strikes in a 192.

On the women’s side of the ledger, Bev Cormani was a pillar of consistency with games of 188, 185, 182 for a 593 series which included 20 strikes and marks on 9-of-11 non-split spare attempts, and Ashlee Yokoyama delivered another productive outing throwing 14 strikes and marks on 15-of-17 non-split spare shots a in a 586 effort which included a clean 217 and only one open frame in a 208.

And whatever Laurie Dillree had for breakfast she’ll want to repeat it in her future morning Ladies Trio League outings as she delivered a heckuva top-notch effort in a season-high 566 series. One of the stats that was so impressive when looking at her score sheet is the fact that in a clean 193 game she had nine spares and two strikes. Another is in a 194 game she had only one open frame along with six strikes and four spares.  By the way, one of her sons, Chase Evans tossed a jaw-dropping 814 series and 300 game in league bowling two weeks ago in St. George.

Meanwhile, in City High Rollers League action, Georgia “GG” Godfrey turned out some good scoring production in a 555 set on games of 188, 185, 182 during which she rolled 12 strikes along with 13 spares, Mary Posey, catapulted by seven strikes in a 227 logged 552, and Sheila Green (531-194) had another productive ER League outing.

Gayle Parison, Sandy Sheppard’s phenomenal season along with Sal Diaz and his three 300 games are three of the big stories of the 2024-25 campaign. And with the focus here on Parison, and no, its not about how she she’s virtually unbeatable when it comes to playing  poker against her. Nosiree! Instead it’s about all the 500s she been racking up this season. In past season’s she had to have help from the bowling deities to even get a whiff of maybe five 500 series scores in an entire season. Now these days, you need a dang calculator to keep track of all her 500-plus series scores.

For example, in just the last three weeks, she’s averaged a jaw-dropping 182.6 with series scores of 559, 548 and 537. And in her clean 537 she tossed five strikes with a turkey. And she’s had five 500s in her last six outings. Yes, impressive! Her secret? She had the guts to change her approach to the game by beginning to throw a hook ball, and it’s reaping dividends with lotsa gratifying 500 series scores and even more ink.

In the single game scene, Lee Ann Harmes (573) rolled seven strikes in a 213, Suzie Fehseke (530) popped a season-high 210 in the Tuesday Ladies Trio League, Sandy Sheppard (568) authored a 208, and Autumn Telford (562) smacked a 203.

Jan Quinn delivered a season-high 199, Reiko Schultz ( 567) delivered a 198, Sonja Robinson a former high school rodeo jock booked a 181, and it is great seeing Julie Pershing capture some ink for a season-high 188. And finally, Chrissy Davis, in a 130 game picked up three splits, and in a 146 game picked up the 3-10- split.

Alfred Oliveira  V 601-220; Kelly Williamson 582-204; Jacoby Ford 579-213; Riley Clayton 220; Gage Hughes 205; Al Oliveira IV 204.

Milan Carr 660-268; Jadon Borges 657-234; Mike Yoder 652-252; John Hollaway 650-238; Bob Marget 644-224; Ricky Trujillo 640-246; Dean Sheppard 639-232; Dave Houghton 624-242; Austin Finster 523-236; Alan Jacobson 618-246; David Johnson 617-225; Logan Hendrick 616-241; Bruce Hooley 61212; Orlyn Meyer 606-247; Jim Bice 606-215; Alfred Oliveira IV 602-244; Jeff Branche 605-224; Al Oliveira V 604-224; Ernie Kala 603-237; Jeff Harmes 603-224; David Walker 601-216; Gil Niimi 600-224; Mike Rogers 600-221; Frank Addamo 594-214; Alan Pearson 584-200; Fred Emmons 582-202; Bob Robbins 249; Harry Uncles 246; Al Gans 238; Ken Meacham 233; Ted Mickelson 232; Tim McNees 227; Jerry Holloway 226; Bob Morgan 225; Larry Willis 224; Ed Hoepfner 219; Dave Johnson 218; Jim Rappe 216; Dale Davidson 215; Michael Donovan 215; Bobby Dixon 214; Vic Reading 214; Juan Morgana 213; Tim Wellman 213; George Huston 213; Bill Rife 213; Dave Cirbo 212; Bryan Pierce 206; Doug Schaan 205; Wally Posey 205; Kelly Williamson 205; Robin Drury 204; Robert Melendez 201.

Cathy Gardner 534-199.