Rochelle senior Logan Ortega started his afternoon strong with a 656 series over the first three games of the Interstate 8 Conference Championship at Mardi Gras Lanes on Tuesday. Head coach Jim Lyles will be hoping to see a similar performance from Ortega and the Hubs when Rochelle competes in the IHSA Regional Series on Saturday.
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DEKALB — Rochelle senior Logan Ortega started his afternoon strong with a 656 series over the first three games of the Interstate 8 Conference Championship at Mardi Gras Lanes on Tuesday. Head coach Jim Lyles will be hoping to see a similar performance from Ortega and the Hubs when Rochelle competes in the IHSA Regional Series on Saturday.
Ortega broke off a 267 opening game and topped the 200 mark three times in the tournament, leading Rochelle with an 1,178 six-game series and helping the Hubs finish fourth overall with 6,063 pins. Ortega recovered from two tough second-series games to end the day with a 211.
“I thought Logan was concentrating hard and I think he really wants it,” Lyles said. “He’s a senior and I think he wanted to bowl well for his last conference meet. I thought he threw the ball well, even in the games he struggled in… Spares are going to be the key for these guys.”
Ortega finished ninth overall in the Interstate 8 Conference individual standings after his performance on Tuesday. Rochelle totaled 1,033 in the opening game behind Ortega’s 267 and sophomore Dylan Milton’s 195. Sophomore Devansh Patel rolled 194 in his second game to aid the Hubs to a 1,023 team total, with Ortega adding 202. Sophomore Sergio Guevara shot 191 in the third game, where Rochelle finished with a 1,042 total score.
Games 4 and 5 were tough for the Hubs, as no players topped the 180 mark and the team finished with respective scores of 894 and 896. Rochelle saved its best group effort for last, however, recording a conference-best 1,175 in the sixth game behind Ortega’s 211 and Guevara’s series-high 214. John Henson stepped up with 196 for the Hubs, while sophomore Maddex Ramos fired a 189 and Patel chipped in 185. Milton rounded out with 180.
“We know what we have to work on in practice,” Lyles said. “We’re going to work on our spares and we’re going to get our kids lined up to bowl on more oil. We’ll need to slow our shots down to where we can get our balls through the oil. I think they’ll get there, and I think our kids will have a chance to make it out of the regional on Saturday.”
