On Tuesday, Oct. 29, Shawnee State’s bowling team faced off against the baseball team in an annual joint practice matchup. The two teams meet up twice a year to face each other in a friendly competition, once on the lanes and later on the baseball field for batting practice.
This tradition began in 2023 when the teams got together for a competition at Sunset Lanes in Portsmouth. Both teams enjoyed the event, and the two head coaches — Bryan Sturgell of the bowling team and Rob Ehlers of the baseball team — got together and decided to make it an annual outing for the two teams.
This event also allows the teams to bond together, make some friends and create some friendly competition for the athletes against one another. It also spices up practices a bit. Practices can tend to get boring and repetitive, especially in a sport such as bowling. There is always something to work on, but it’s a lot of practicing the same thing to get better. This event allows the bowling team to practice but also to have fun and relax during a practice and be a bit more laid-back for the time being.
Sturgell said the idea for the competition came from a conversation between a couple coaches and Ehlers’ curiosity about college bowling. While Sturgell started by trying to explain the sport at the collegiate level, he ended up inviting the baseball team to a practice. Both coaches thought it would be a fun event to put on for the teams.
While they weren’t able to get it scheduled in time last season, the bowling team hopes to make it out to Branch Rickey Park, home of the Bears baseball team, for a joint batting practice with the baseball team on their turf sometime in early 2025.
“We have sent the message to all SSU sports to come and practice with us,” Sturgell said. “Hopefully they see and hear about this and get their coaches involved to set it up.”
Sturgell went on to summarize the event as “a great way to get our teams to bond together and support each other.”
