4 LI high school bowlers roll 300 games in one day
North Babylon's Dominick Casale, Bay Shore's Brandon Guerin and North Babylon's Anthony Cioffi all bowled 300 games at Babylon Bowl on Dec. 8, 2015. Credit: Handout
Islip’s Adam August Rotbart predicted that he would bowl a perfect game. Dominick Casale and Anthony Cioffi, North Babylon teammates, went frame for frame matching strike after strike. Bay Shore’s Brandon Guerin, just a few lanes down, left no pins standing.
Call it Long Island’s perfect storm of perfect games, as all four bowlers rolled a 300 game Tuesday in Suffolk County boys bowling.
Let’s begin with Rotbart. Did Babe Ruth really call his shot in the 1932 World Series? That you can debate. But did Rotbart call his perfect game in a boys bowling matchup yesterday? Absolutely.
“This might sound like I’m bragging,” Rotbart said, “but before I came here, I did my routine and I warmed up and I just felt really good today. Before I came here, I told my mom, ‘Mom I’m gonna shoot 300 today.’”
And with each shot, the fist pumps got stronger and the roar of the crowd grew louder for Rotbart. After capturing the attention of nearly every bowler and spectator, Rotbart reached his arm back and shot it forward for the 12th time — resulting in the only shot he knew at that point, a strike, to complete a 300 score.
Rotbart’s perfect score came in the first game of a 659 series as Islip defeated West Islip, 1,206-932, 998-875, 900-910, at East Islip Lanes. His teammates, Dominic Caruso (681 series) and Robbie Grasso (657 series), also had strong performances.
Just two weeks ago, Rotbart rolled all strikes through 10 frames before losing out on perfection. “It wasn’t a matter of if he was going to do it,” Islip coach Jason Orlick said, “it was a matter of when.”
It happened on a day when three other bowlers accomplished the same feat.
Casale and Cioffi each bowled a 300 in the third game of their match on Tuesday to lead North Babylon (3-0) to a 1002-899, 1021-865, 1165-899 win over West Babylon at Babylon Bowl.
“They both were going at it frame by frame,” said North Babylon coach Sonny Casale, who is Dominick’s father. “Neither one wanted to be the first to not strike. And they didn’t.”
Meanwhile, under the same roof, Guerin was rolling the first perfect game of his high school career, said coach Dawn Vallone. The senior shot a 300 in the third game of an 812 series to lead Bay Shore (2-1) to a 923-820, 878-820, 1,016-675 win over Copiague.
So, how does rolling a perfect game feel?
“I don’t even remember, honestly, but it just felt like there was so much energy. It was overwhelming,” Rotbart said. “I was expecting to just turn around and jump into my team’s arms and that’s exactly what happened.”
Just as it did for Casale, Cioffi, and Guerin.
With Mike Gavin
