No one called the fire department, they just kept watching the man fire strikes on his way to a 300 game and a record series during competition in the Vemco Trio League at the local bowling spot.
After opening with his 300 game, Pena followed up with games of 264 and 254 to finish with a series score of 814. He bowled 20 strikes in a row on the way to his record-setting series total.
“I was on fire,” Pena said. “I was on top of the world. I couldn’t believe it was happening. It was just a night where I could do no wrong.”
Jay DeJaynes, manager of the Sandhills Bowling Center, said as far as could be determined Pena’s feat was the highest series ever bowled at the center.
Pena, who lives in Seven Lakes, has had five 300 games in his career, and has another 800 series. The first time he broke the 800 barrier he finished with an 801 total.
He started bowling with his father when he was a child, and attended Dick Ritger’s camp twice.
He remembers getting hooked on bowling when he used to watch it on ABC with Chris Schenkel doing the reporting. He participated in amateur events in various tournaments, mainly in New York where he lived until he moved here with his family in 2004.
“It’s funny. I remember watching it on Saturdays, and Schenkel would be whispering,” Pena said. “They don’t whisper anymore. It’s changed.”
His teammates certainly weren’t whispering during his run last week. They were having fun with Pena.
“I had 20 strikes in a row,” he said. “After the 300 game, I bowled eight more strikes. All the guys were saying, ‘You’re going to bowl another one.’ It was just a lot of fun. It was really a lot of fun to do it with my teammates watching.”
