Columnist John McCarron: Baker repeats at SSBT

John McCarron

Thursday, Feb. 19, 1998 | 2:06 a.m.

JOHN McCARRONis a former pro bowler, international coach and a member of the Massachusetts Bowling Hall of Fame. He can be reached via the internet at J300SUN@aol.com or by fax at 254-7330.

DICK BAKER raced to the finish line for his second consecutive SSBT victory -- and he did it with the identical total of 1194 pins for his 5 games at Sam's Town last Sunday. That's one for the books.

Anthony Marine, the last SSBT Sam's Town winner, got things under way with a really nice 255. But Baker shot a great 279 to take the lead. In retaliation, Marine rolled the tournament high game of 289 to pull within 7 pins of the lead and put the pressure on Baker.

The fourth game side pot went to Sunset Lanes general manager Bud Lang with a nice 256, while the last pot went to super senior Roy Ferg with a cool 238. Marine settled for third place with John Cocchi grabbing second.

Baker also teamed with veteran star Larry Rumple to take home the optional doubles.

The next SSBT event is set for March 1 at the Santa Fe. For information call tournament director Gary Walters at 646-8466.

* ELSEWHERE: Chris Klerk took home the Division A honors in the Junior Tournament Travel league (TNT) at the Santa Fe for a $90 scholarship. Jason Dickmann won Division B while Lisa Richter took the handicap division . ... Tim (Swag) Schwerdtfeger's six-game total of 2766 won the first NTBA event of the new year at Mahoney's Bowling Center. Billy Hillers challenged Swag but came up short, scoring a 2752 for second place. On the comeback trail, Harold Mountain grabbed the third spot with a 2587 total. For information on future NTBA events call Bart di Bartolo at 451-7474. ... Hai Nguyen 219 ($140) defeated Anthony Randolph 195 ($90) in the weekly Gold Coast Shoot-Out. Bobby Copeland and Billy Kelly collected $45 for third and fourth spot. Nguyen had high game of 267. The Gold Coast Shoot-Out is held every Thursday at 11:30 p.m. with a $25 entry fee. Call tournament director Jason Gupton at 367-4700 for details.