Impact Vs. Body Bagz Preview

This Thursday’s tour stop style match between Impact and Body Bagz at Crofton at 7pm, features the following lineups (for now) as of tody’s date:
IMPACT
Scratch
Dominick Snyder (239)
Pooh Taylor (233)
“Tree” McClaney (236)
Scratch Total = 708
HDCP 1
Stephanie Gill (200; HDCP 35)
Kirby Crawford (220; HDCP 21)
Scott Rehm (233; HDCP 11)
Scratch Total = 653; HDCP Total = 67
HDCP 2
Trent Coleman (227; HDCP 16)
John Schroeder (207; HDCP 30)
Dan Schaden (233; HDCP 11)
Scratch Total = 667; HDCP Total = 57
BODY BAGZ
Scratch
James Welbon (226)
Kevin Coleman (230)
Nate Welbon (231)
Scratch Total = 687
HDCP 1
Andre Welbon (219; HDCP 21)
Adrian Welbon (211; HDCP 27)
Ron Gordon (221; HDCP 20)
Scratch Total = 651; HDCP Total = 68
HDCP 2
Chris Scott (220; HDCP 21)
James Noel (210; HDCP 28)
Allen Hayes (227; HDCP 16)
Scratch Total = 657; HDCP Total = 65

I have been asked to give my prediction for this exhibition match. Keeping with my integrity, I will give an unbiased opinion based on the data. This match’s winner is determined by total pinfall, not the 40 point system.

Scratch
The totals favor Impact by a total of 21 pins on paper. This is Crofton, and depending on what both teams have to play on, this should be highly contested by the numbers. For Impact, Dominick Snyder should perform well at Crofton, despite last week’s performance, which can be attributed to rust and bowling on a broken down shot. Pooh and Tree have chemistry and the ball speed to play the right portion of the lane to score well. The question is whether or not Tree has been bowling on a regular basis. If he is not rusty, then he should have a decent look. Pooh will have his look, unless it gets crowded with James and him looking to play the same boards. Dominick will dictate the pace. He will be able to play outside in which should give Pooh and Tree a look at where to play the lanes. If Dominick is scoring, then it will be a good evening on the scratch pair for Impact.

For Body Bagz, James is going to have a great look no matter the conditions. He is a balanced bowler and not looking to hook the lane, but play as straight as possible and can easily adjust to whatever the lanes are telling him to do. Nate will be the sole lefty on the pair based on the lineup, which bodes well for him as he will be able to create his own shot and work at his own pace. He has been bowling at Crofton enough for the past few months to know how to get to the pocket. The question is will he be able to carry the corners. He should have a great look all night. Buttons will be the X factor on this pair for Body Bagz. If he has things going well, is striking and putting up numbers, then things will be tough for Impact.

All in all, I see some decent numbers being put up on the typical Crofton house shot. Typical Crofton shot, edge is to Impact, but if it is on the burn then the edge goes to Body Bagz as the sole lefty will have a huge advantage. Either way, I predict Body Bagz and Impact will be within 100 pins of each other in total on the scratch pair. The slight edge should lean to the home team, Impact, but veteran experience and he amount of lane time put in this house for the last few months should favor Body Bagz.

Handicap 1
This pair will make or break the night for both squads. This is basically another scratch match up looking at the scratch and handicap totals. Impact gets the slight edge in scratch at 653 to Body Bagz’s 651, and Body Bagz has a slight edge in handicap at 68 to 67. So, scratch totals will determine this match up.

Starting with Impact, Stephanie again will be the X-factor. If she can put together another 791 set, scratch, then well, Impact should win. No questions asked. She will play off the corner and will be in area of her own, which gives her a great opportunity to repeat last week’s performance. Literally, no one will be trying to play where she is playing, and if the shot is anything like last week’s, she will be in great shape. Kirby loves Crofton and should have a great look as he knows how to reach the pocket in this alley. If the shot is burnt down, then he may struggle, but the typical Crofton house shot will give him a 650 to 680 pace every time. Scott Rehm will have a great look, but things could get interesting as he is not the only lefty on the pair. Will Scott be able to get the 7 pin out? That is the question. Game 1, will determine how the night will go for him. Scott should have a great performance, which leads to Impact’s advantage.

For Body Bagz, the Twins will need to score and make spares. Andre will need to dictate the pace and average around 6 strikes a game and cover 90% of his 10 pins. Adrian will need to stick to one area of the lane and cannot give away frames while lined up against Kirby who will take advantage of any slip ups. Spare making will determine how this match up will go for Body Bagz. Ron will need to be his usual consistent self. Matching Scott’s output will be tough, but he always has a great look on this alley. Ron will need to close out 9 and 10 frames, as the games will be close down the stretch. The Twins keeping a 220 pace each game should be the remedy for victory. I have personal knowledge that they are extremely excited for this match and planning to pull off one of the best performances of this summer.

Ultimately, the question is what they will be playing on. On the burn favors Impact. Typical Crofton house shot favors Scott and Kirby, but gives the Twins and Ron more hold for the latter half of the match, which scores should balloon. Look to seeing the Body Bagz pair get off to a hot start. Impact’s pair has the experience advantage and will present a steady barrage. How will Body Bagz match them during the 8, 9 and 10th frames of each game. If the match’s are close then Impact has the edge. Body Bagz will need to stay on them early and stretch a lead. With the way Stephanie has been bowling, Impact has the slight edge in this pair’s match up. There should be less than a 60 pin difference in total pins on this pair.

Handicap 2
Starting with Impact, on paper Impact has a 10 pin edge in scratch and are giving away 8 pins in handicap. This can be significant depending on how well their two right-handers are performing that night. Trent will determine if Impact wins this pair. Simple as that. He is the only lefty on the pair and should have a great look on any shot they play on. Trent has a great day, then Impact’s handicap 2 pair has a great day. John will work on getting his shot the first game and a half. He should get it rolling pretty good in the latter half of game two. Dan will have to compete with the traffic laid down by Chris and JT, but is talented enough to get his shot and score enough to keep Impact in the match.

For Body Bagz, Allen Hayes will need to keep Chris calm and guide JT. Allen will need a good night to capture a win on this pair for Body Bagz. Chris will have to manage his nerves and not get down on any bad shots. The house and burn at Crofton plays in his favor as the can play inside or out. He cannot worry about keeping up with Trent and just reach his average every game, which he should do based on his performances of late. JT should have a great look coming off the corner. If he is lined up early, Body Bagz will be in great shape. This pair will have to stick around and keep things close in order to give themselves a fighting chance in the latter half. They will have to weather the big start Impact will likely come out with. Keeping composed is the key for Body Bagz on this pair.

Impact has the edge in experience on this pair, and the lefty also does not hurt. Body Bagz’s pair is not quite as familiar with the terrain, so there will be a slight learning curve. How quickly Body Bagz adapts and how well Chris does will determine how close this pair will be. Slight edge leans to Impact. This will either be a close one or not so close. A close match favors Body Bagz, though.

This match up will not be a blow out. Total pin difference should be somewhere within 100 to 200 pins. Numbers and data favors Impact for the win. However, more Body Bagz members have been getting reps in this house more recently when compared against most of the Impact members that are bowling in the match. That could be the slight edge Body Bagz needs to take the win. This will be a very competitive match and should come down to the final frames to determine the victor.