STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. - UPIKE women's bowling rattled off another game seven win, this time defeating No. 2 Mount Mercy (Iowa) Friday morning in round two of match play of the 2025 NAIA Women's Bowling National Championship.
Game 1: UPIKE 237, Mount Mercy 193
Brianna Rogers threw the first shot in game one and dropped ten. Victoria Hines dropped ten in the second and Katarina Hagler nine spared in the third. Kelsey Cummings struck in the fourth and Kristina Catoe anchored the front five with a nine spare.
Rogers made it two for two with a strike to open the back five. Hines filled the seventh with a seven spare and Hagler dropped ten in the eighth. Cummings struck for a second time in and Catoe struck twice in the tenth. Erica Warne checked into the game for the fill shot and knocked down eight. The Bears took a 237-193 win in game one and a 1-0 lead in the series.
Game 2: UPIKE 213, Mount Mercy 168
Rogers opened game two the same way she opened game one, with a strike. Hines knocked down nine in the second and Hagler struck in the third. Cummings dropped ten in the fourth and Catoe capped off the front five with a strike.
Frame six was filled with a scorebook X by Rogers and Hines spared in the seventh. The last three frames of game two went strike by Hagler, eight spare by Cummings, and Catoe struck then spared in the tenth. The Bears filled nine of ten frames and took a 2-0 series lead.
Game 3: Mount Mercy 216, UPIKE 200
Rogers and Hines recorded back-to-back strikes to start game three. Hagler made it three strikes in a row and Cummings nine spared in the fourth. Catoe closed out the front half with a strike.
Rogers opened the back half of game three with a nine then Hines struck for the second time in game three. Game three ended with a strike from Hagler, an eight from Cummings, and then Catoe struck and nine spared in the tenth. The Mustangs made the Bears pay for leaving two open in the back five and won game three.
Game 4: UPIKE 235, Mount Mercy 231
Rogers nine spared in frame one and Hines made the Mustangs pay for leaving the first open with a nine spare in the second. Hagler and Cummings recorded back-to-back nine spares and Catoe struck in the fifth.
Rogers opened the back five with a strike and Hines made it three in a row in the seventh. Hagler struck and Cummings nine spared. Catoe capped off the comeback with two strikes and a six to put UPIKE up 3-1 in the series.
Game 5: Mount Mercy 221, UPIKE 205
Game five began with a Rogers eight spare and a Hines strike. Hagler struck in the third and Cummings filled the fourth with an eight spare. Catoe nine spared in the fifth.
Rogers dropped ten in the sixth and Hines recorded a nine in the seventh. The final three frames of game five went strike by Hagler, eight spare by Cummings, two strikes by Catoe, and a fill shot strike by Haley Grabowski. Despite the late push, the Mustangs edged out the Bears 221-205 and cut the series lead to 3-2.
Game 6: Mount Mercy 245, UPIKE 190
Rogers dropped ten in the opening frame and Hines dropped eight in the second. Hagler struck in the third, Cummings struck in the fourth, and Catoe nine spared in the fifth.
Rogers opened the back half with a strike, then Grabowski checked into the match and recorded a nine. Hagler and Cummings struck, and then Erica Warne subbed in and nine spared. The Mustangs struck seven times in game six and tied the series 3-3.
Game 7: UPIKE 235, Mount Mercy 189
The Bears and Mustang left the first frame open to start game seven. Warne and Hagler seven spared, Cummings struck, and Catoe struck to close out the front half.
Rogers made the Mustangs pay for leaving six open with a strike. Warne made it four in a row in the seventh. The last three frames went nine spare by Hagler, strike by Cummings, and back-to-back fill shot strikes by Vanessa Fuzie. The Bears struck eight times to win their second game seven in as many matches.
The win moves the Bears into round four where they will face No. 6 Concordia (Mich.).
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