Mustangs Take Commanding Win in Qualifying; Fall in Bracket Play

TOPEKA, Kan. - The Mount Mercy men's bowling team ended the first two days of the NAIA BCA Invitational with a commanding lead, before falling in bracket play to close their weekend.

The Mustangs ended the first two days with a lead over 400 pins over the next closest competitor in St. Xavier, ending with a pinfall cound of 10474. St. Xavier would be the only other team above 10,000 pins knocked down at 10026. William Penn finished just shy of that number with a pinfall total of 9977, while Spring Arbor rounded out the top four at 9905.

The Mustangs would take on fellow Heart foe Baker in the opening round of bracket play, with the Wildcats coming out on top in the best of seven. Baker took the first two games, while the Mustangs would answer back with two wins in the next two, narrowing down the matchup to a best of three. Baker would take a win in game five, while the Mustangs answered with a win in game six. It was Baker who would come out on top in game seven, winning by 22 pins.

Individually, Jacob Bockstie would win the individual portion of the tournament, ending with a pinfall total of 1232, bowling at least a 225 in four of five games, including a tournament high 299 in the opening game. Zach Andresen also landed on the all tournament team with a fifth place finish, ending with a pinfall cound of 1092. Keaton Ostrowski and Andru Blaney rounded out the top seven, narrowly missing all tournament team honors.

The Mustangs will next hit the lanes at the Team Match Games, taking place in Fairview Heights, Illinois next weekend.