Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, won four consecutive stepladder matches to win the PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Open presented by Brunswick Tuesday and become the season’s first two-time winner.

Scroggins defeated PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber of St. Ann, Mo., in the championship match, 247-195, at Farmingdale Lanes to win his second PBA50 Tour title in three tournaments with his first win coming in the recent UnitedHealthcare Sun Bowl In The Villages in his PBA50 Tour debut.

“It’s hard to believe being here after what I’ve been through the past year,” said Scroggins, who is coming back from a nearly year-long layoff from competition because of a foot ailment. “It’s been a long road back but I can honestly say this is the best I’ve felt in about two years.

“If anyone would have told me a year ago I’d be standing here with two titles, I’d say no way,” the eight-time PBA Tour winner added. “It’s fun to be on top again.”

Just as he did in his Sun Bowl In The Villages win, Scroggins, who qualified fifth for the finals, won three consecutive matches to get to the championship match. Scroggins first beat Brian LeClair of Delmar, N.Y., in a tight first match, 245-244, then went on to beat Mike Dias of Lafayette, Colo., in the second match, 245-206, and Ron Mohr of Las Vegas in the semifinal match, 228-179.

“I’m not sure why exactly but I thought Brian would be my toughest opponent and if I could get by him I thought I’d have a good chance to get to the championship match,” Scroggins said. “I had bowled on that pair of lanes a few times during the tournament and had a pretty good read on those lanes. I threw mostly good shots but got a few breaks on some shots I didn’t throw that well.”

In between his wins Scroggins finished 49th in last week’s Miller High Life Classic in Charlotte.

Weber, who was trying for his fourth PBA50 Tour title, has been battling back from a sluggish start to the season with 24th and 44th place finishes in the first two tournaments, but has bounced back with a third in last week’s Miller High Life Classic and his second-place finish in the Johnny Petraglia BVL Open.

The tournament was named after PBA legend Johnny Petraglia who is a 14-time PBA Tour and eight-time PBA50 Tour winner. Petraglia, a Vietnam War veteran who finished 18th in the tournament, is the only player in history to win national PBA titles in six different decades.

The tournament raised approximately $50,000 to benefit the BVL, an organization which is funded exclusively by the bowling industry that provides recreational and therapeutic programs and services for America’s active duty and veteran service men and women.

The PBA50 Tour takes a break until the season’s first major, the Suncoast PBA Senior U.S. Open presented by Storm, which gets underway May 31-June 5 at the Suncoast Bowling Center in Las Vegas.

PBA50 JOHNNY PETRAGLIA BVL OPEN PRESENTED BY BRUNSWICK
Farmingdale Lanes, Farmingdale, N.Y., Tuesday
Final Standings

1, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, $7,500.

2, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., $4,000.

3, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, $2,500.

4, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., $2,000.

5, Brian LeClair, Delmar, N.Y., $1,750.

Stepladder Results

Match One – Scroggins def. LeClair, 245-244.

Match Two – Scroggins def. Dias, 245-206.

Semifinal Match – Scroggins def. Mohr, 228-179.

Championship – Scroggins def. Weber, 247-195.

Modified Match Play Round 2 (after six games, including match play bonus pins. Top five advanced to stepladder finals)

1, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 6-0, 1,664.
2, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 4-2, 1,537.
3, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 4-2, 1,489.
4, Brian LeClair, Delmar, N.Y., 3-2-1, 1,450.
5, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 4-2, 1,437.
6, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3-3, 1,434, $1,500.
7, Brian Cooper, Henderson, Nev., 3-1-2, 1,431, $1,500.
8, a-John Kirker Jr., Taftville, Conn., 3-3, 1,409, $1,500.
9, Ray Edwards, Middle Island, N.Y., 4-2, 1,401, $1,300.
10, Dave Mutch, Oakland, N.J., 2-4, 1,395, $1,300.
11, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 2-4, 1,339, $1,300.
12, ss-Gary Shultis, Levittown, N.Y., 2-4, 1,334, $1,300.
13, John Conroy, Mahopac, N.Y., 2-3-1, 1,331, $1,300.
14, Christopher Keane, Cape Coral, Fla., 2-4, 1,291, $1,300.
15, ss-Tom Baker, King, N.C., 2-4, 1,234, $1,300.
16, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 0-6, 1,229, $1,300.

Modified Match Play Round 1 (after five games, including match play bonus pins)

17, James Hansen, Anchorage, Alaska, 2-2-1, 1,143, $1,150.
18, ss-John Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 2-3, 1,130, $1,150.
19, a-Todd Lathrop, Colchester, Conn., 2-3, 1,118, $1,150.
20, David Zelger, Red Lion, Pa., 2-3, 1,109, $1,150.
21, Mike Hastings, Millsboro, Del., 2-3, 1,071, $1,150.
22, ss-Bob Caruso, Dayton, N.J., 1-3-1, 1,066, $1,150.
23, Warren Burr, Wilmington, Del., 2-3, 1,049, $1,150.
24, Al Spano, Massapequa Park, N.Y., 2-3, 1,040, $1,150.

Other Cashers (after five-game cashers’ round)

25, ss-Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 1,081, $1,050.
26, ss-Brendan Bierch, Grafton, Mass., 1,079, $1,050.
27, Jerry Brunette Jr., Rochester, N.Y., 1,070, $1,050.
28, ss-Ted Staikoff, Black Hawk, S.D., 1,062, $1,050.
29, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 1,053, $1,050.
30, Marty Berke, Allentown, Pa., 1,045, $1,050.
31, Stephen Pavlinko, Sewell, N.J., 1,028, $1,050.
32, ss-Chris Fedden, Albany, N.Y., 1,026, $1,000.
33, ss-Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 1,016, $1,000.
34, ss-Norm Ginsberg, West Babylon, N.Y., 1,015, $1,000.
35, ss-Steve Stein, Staten Island, N.Y., 1,013, $1,000.
36, ss-Bill McCorkle, Westerville, Ohio, 1,007, $1,000.
37, ss-Tommy Brodowski, New Hyde Park, N.Y., 1,004, $1,000.
38, ss-Dale Eagle, Laguna Niguel, Calif., 1,003, $1,000.
39, Glenn Smith, New York, 917, $1,000.

300 Games: Johnny Petraglia, Tim Regan

a-denotes amateur

ss-denotes PBA60 player