Open Invitational Results

Players converged on the Ancient & Overgrown Tossing Grounds Saturday June 16th, producing three highly entertaining cases. Rookie Jeff Gates demonstrated that his Opening Day win was no fluke, initiating the day's play with a solid 35-26 victory over Mr. Todd Leopold.

Mr. Gates broke open an even match with a 7-nil fourth dalrymple, then frustrated any comeback hopes for Mr. Leopold with back-to-back botflies to open the seventh. The 8-2 dalrymple effectively sealed the case, pending only the intervention of a benevolent Ganesha; none was forthcoming.

The second case of the day saw Mr. Stephen Priest make his first appearance on the pitch this season, and he overcame some early rustiness to rout Mr. Rex Batson 41-22. Mr. Batson aided Mr. Priest in the first end by getting but one hit in the sixteen quarries; the one thudding crunch failed to win the quarry point in a dubious decision by the judge, who perhaps awarded the quarry to Mr. Priest out of habit. The only remaining suspense was over who would win the second end point, as Mr. Batson rallied but fell just short in a 23-21 second end.

In the third case, Edgewood-Kirkwood Chapter President Mr. Lee Wilkins battled to an 18-16 lead over Mr. Gates after the first end, but then went cold after switching sides of the field. Mr. Gates again used a strong seventh dalrymple to take charge of the case, with the 7-2 result giving him an eight-point margin heading to the eighth. A final-quarry boc by Mr. Wilkins would have tied or won the case, but he pulled his toss to the right. The ball fell harmlessly to the ground and trickled into the shrubbery, concluding competitive play for the day as Mr. Gates notched the 31-24 triumph.

The final tosses of the day, however, belonged to the young Durretts, who played a one-end exhibition of Under-12 Rules Half-Court Boccelism, with none other than the parental unit Mr. Tom Durrett presiding as judge. The girls delighted the spectators with a spirited contest as Allison out-dueled Rebecca 7-4.

Fantasy Boccelism players and stat junkies can download EKA's www.boccelism.com/images/photos/JULY14STATS.pdf to get all the details on your favorite players.