Justin Emig recently tallied 33 of 36 possible strikes as he rolled games of 299, 269 and 300 en route to an 868 series at Colony Park Lanes North.
The 29-year-old right-hander from York erased Adam Mobley’s house record of 866, set in 2008. His 868 series is tied for the third highest in county history.
Emig admittedly threw one bad shot all night. But, of course, that’s the one he can’t get out of his mind.
On his first ball of the second game, he was left of the pocket and the four-pin stood steadfast. He converted the spare and put together six strikes before leaving the nine pin in the eighth frame. He struck out to finish with a 269.
“If I strike on the first ball of the second game, I finish with an 878, which would have tied the county record,” said Emig. “I was a little wide with that shot, and it was the only one I would have liked back.”
The only other blemish on Emig’s near-perfect night was a seven pin on the final ball of the first game.
“I felt great,” said Emig, who is averaging 229. “Everything was flowing well, and I was consistently in the pocket.”
As the night progressed and the strikes continued to pile up, Emig made sure he kept his focus and followed his normal routine prior to every ball.
Reaching the 800 plateau midway through the third game lifted most of the pressure off of Emig.
There might have been more pressure, however, if he had realized the house record was 866.
“I didn’t think I had a chance to break the house record because I thought it was 868,” he offered. “Given that, I figured the best I could do was tie it. I mainly focused on trying to finish with a 300 game.”
His final strike unleashed a barrage of high fives and congratulations. He texted many of his friends and the news was quickly posted on Facebook.
“It (the 868) didn’t really hit me until I went home, and particularly the next day when I drove by the center. I thought, ‘No one else has ever rolled a higher series there.’ It gave me goose bumps.”
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