After a strong 3-0 start on the season, the Tippecanoe boys bowling squad walked into Troy Bowl and right into a bowling buzzsaw, falling to the Trojans to drop their first match of the season.

Sophomore Conner Demange led the Red Devils with a 403 series with a 218 and 185 to finish as the only Red Devil to break 400 on the day.

Freshman Hunter Herzog finished his day with a 207-156 for a series of 363. Right behind Herzog with a 339 was Scott Lohnes, who rolled a 175-164.

The final two varsity players finished just shy of a 300 series as Hayden Sherwood rolled 137-149 (286) and Lucas Heitbrink finished his day with 146-134 for a 280 series.

“We have done better than we did today, but they really didn’t do that bad today,” said Tipp coach Jim Ridgeway. “A lot of it is we have a very young team, and it is the first time they had to try to come from behind and they just don’t have the experience yet to know how to do that.”

“This is a hard house to bowl in, and it is a little drier than what they are used to, so the transition really messed with them. It was an interesting learning day for them.”

“Conner is really coming along for us compared to where he was last year,” he added. “I only have two seniors and one of them was sick today, so we had a lot of freshmen and sophomores, so I am looking forward to moving on. I really think we have a chance to get into districts with the boys.”

Over on the girls' side, the Red Devils ran into one of the state’s top girls’ programs, losing to Troy by almost 800 pins.

Leading the way for the Red Devils was Mary McCormick with a team-high 320 series, rolling 154-148 on the day. Morgan Wolbers was next for Tipp as she rolled a 124-147 for a 271 series, followed by Jocelyn Gold who finished with a 145-115 for a 260.

The final Tipp bowler to break 200 was Amber Weldon, who finished with a 114-105 (219), while bowling one game each was Isabella Reynolds and Alyssa Lunsford, who each rolled 112 on the day.

“The girls were only about 50 pins lower then where they have been,” Ridgeway said. “Mary put up a good night tonight; hers might be a career high. She is getting better at putting together two good games.”

“The Troy girls are usually a team that finishes as runners-up or close to state every year. I just told the girls to not worry about what the other team is doing and do your best.”