Baer sitting where he wants entering match play

Defending Bud Light York County Match Play champ Adam Baer is right where he wants to be entering match play this weekend—at the top of the heap.

Baer, a 29-year-old right-hander, paced the field of 61 bowlers in the two-day, 12-game qualifying session by averaging 240 and tallying 2,881 pins. He is trying to become the first bowler to successfully defend his title in the tournament’s 15-year history.

Match play competition begins 2 p.m., Saturday, at Colony Park Lanes North and concludes at 10 a.m., Sunday, at East Lincoln Lanes.

“I threw the ball great all weekend, and it feels good to be in the lead,” said Baer, one of 16 competitors who advanced to match play. “My goal was to make the match play. It didn’t matter if I qualified first or 16^th.”

With only 101 pins separating first place from 16^th, Baer knows there isn’t a big advantage to being in first at this point. The standings can change quickly.

In match play, each bowler receives plus or minus the number of pins above or below 200 each game and 30 bonus pins for a win.

Each bowler rolls one game against every other bowler in the field. The final game is a position round, pitting 1 vs. 2, 3 vs. 4, 5 vs. 6 and so forth.

“The 30 bonus pins for a win is huge,” said the two-time match play champ. “With 16 games, that’s a lot of potential bonus pins.”

As the leader, Baer knows he’s in the sights of the other 15 match play competitors. But it doesn’t change his approach.

“During qualifying, my mental approach was one game at a time,” he offered. “And, it’s the same for match play. You can’t afford to look too far ahead.”

Baer expects intense competition from talented field of match play bowlers, which includes two-time champ Steve Carbaugh (2003 and 2005).

First place is expected to be worth at least $1,000.

In match play, bowlers start with the number of pins more than 2,400 that they tallied in qualifying. Bowlers and their point totals are: Baer (481); Denny Runkle (461); Neil Smith (457); Don Harbaugh (454); Jerred Poff (451); Barry Whorley (446); Greg Bruff (437); Dave Kareis (434); Jeff Daubert (413); Mark Jones (410); Eric Smith (402); Duane Martin (399); Justin Shearer (390); Rick Bretz (389); Steve Carbaugh (389) and Jimmy Plessinger (380).