BATON ROUGE, La. - Andre Trahan from nearby Houma, La., rolled the 18th perfect game of the 2012 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships on Tuesday, ending a drought that lasted more than five weeks.

The 25-year-old right-hander started doubles slowly with a 162 game, but he found his stride and connected on 12 consecutive shots to record the first 300 at the Baton Rouge River Center since May 8. He finished with a 199 game for a 661 series and teamed with his father, Kirk Trahan, for a 1,228 doubles total. Matt McNiel of Prior Lake, Minn., and Charles Vashaw of Deephaven, Minn., lead Regular Doubles with 1,489.

"It's an honor for me to have a 300 here because not a lot of people expect to come out here and shoot really big scores," said Trahan, who made his fourth USBC Open Championships appearance. "It's awesome to be one of the few to do it this year, and I'm excited that my name will always be on the wall next to so many great bowlers."

In three previous trips to the Open Championships, Trahan's highest series was 562, so his only goal heading into this year's event was to shoot 600. He added 631 in singles and 604 in team for a career-best all-events total of 1,896, more than 350 pins better than his previous high.

"After shooting 600 in team yesterday, I was pretty confident heading into doubles and singles today," Trahan said. "I knew what I had to do and where I had to throw the ball, but I didn't do that at the beginning. I was able to focus more on bowling in the second game, and it paid off."

Trahan has stood on the approach in leagues or other events with 11 consecutive strikes nine other times, but his 300 on Tuesday was only the second of his bowling career. To make it even more special, it was the first one he got to share with his father, a 10-time Open Championships participant.

"It might not be the same for some people, but my palms started sweating, my heart started racing and I tried not to let my legs buckle underneath me," said Trahan, who bowls league at Creole Lanes in Houma. "It was a relief when the last pins went down. My dad wasn't there for my first one, so this makes it even more special."

Kirk Trahan had 589 in singles, 567 in doubles and 552 in team for a 1,708 all-events total.

"My dad knows what I can do and what I can't do, so he helps me a lot when we're bowling," Trahan said. "I think he's one of the best bowlers around who never really had the chance to go out and prove it. He's taught me a lot about bowling and this tournament, and it definitely helped me today."

Sponsors for the 2012 USBC Open Championships include Circus Circus Reno, Eldorado Hotel Casino Reno and Silver Legacy Resort Casino Reno. Other sponsors include the Belle of Baton Rouge, official brackets sponsor; Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; Humana, official registration sponsor; Bud Light and Budweiser, official beer sponsors; The Advocate, official publication sponsor; Brunswick, official lane provider; Steltronic, official scoring system; Storm Bowling Products and Nationwide Insurance.