Victories for senior bowlers in three different competitions

First up was a crunch league match at home to Dunbarton which saw the Braidmen crush the visitors by 115 shots to 62.

Andrew Bonnar, David Duncan, Mark Torrington and Jim Baker recovered from conceding a count of 6 shots on the first end against C McCartan to eventually move in front after the halfway stage and it was one-way traffic from there as the Ballymena rink went on to win 27-12.

Steven Shields, Sammy Allen, Andrew Morrison and Andrew Kyle have had a few close games in recent times without getting the victory they deserved, however on Tuesday night it all came together in their match against D J Wilson when they were always in control in winning by 32 shots to 10.

James Gaston, Graham Wilson, Steven Falls and Nigel Robinson looked as though they were going to taste defeat for the first time this season when they trailed A Hughes by eight shots with three ends left. In an amazing finish however Robinson’s men claimed 3 successive counts of 3 shots to claim an unlikely 21-20 victory.

JR Nicholl, Jimmy Hodges, Alistair Coleman and Steven Coleman were on fire against M Greenfield, winning by 35 shots to 13, with the visitors winning the final two ends to prevent an even more emphatic scoreline.

PGL CUP

Ballymena 84, Ballywalter 65: J R Nicholl, Jimmy Hodges, Alistair Coleman and Steven Coleman were always in control against A Davidson. Six shots on the fifth end gave the Ballymena rink the initiative and they dominated the remainder of the game, winning 25-10.

Steven Shields, Sammy Allen, Andrew Morrison and Andrew Kyle produced a strong finish, outscoring I McNamara’s rink by 17 shots to 2 over the last nine ends to claim a well deserved victory by 24 shots to 14.

Andrew Bonnar, J J Robinson, Mark Torrington and Jim Baker chipped away at a 13-6 deficit against K Massey and three shots on the penultimate end and a further 2 shots on the final end saw the Ballymena men snatch a hard fought 19-16 win.

The outcome of James Gaston, Graham Wilson, Steven Falls and Nigel Robinson’s match against E Lowry was in the melting pot for much of the game, however, it was the Ballywalter rink who finished strongly to win 25-16.

IRISH SENIOR CUP

Ballymena 114, Salisbury 60: As expected Ballymena Seniors were too strong for the Salisbury men.

Andrew Bonnar, David Duncan, Mark Torrington and Jim Baker were 15-1 ahead after eight ends against J Warnock and there was still that margin between the sides at the end with the final score 28-14 in favour of the Braid rink.

G Eaton Jnr gave Steven Shields, Sammy Allen, Andrew Morrison and Andrew Kyle a real run for their money but six shots on the 16th end gave the Ballymena men the momentum they needed to kick on and they eventually went on to win 32-15.

James Gaston, Graham Wilson, Steven Falls and Nigel Robinson were always in control against D McKeating, eventually winning by 26 shots to 10.

The closest game of the day saw J R Nicholl, Jimmy Hodges, Alistair Coleman and Steven Coleman deadlocked at 21-21 with two ends left against Gary Eaton Snr. The Braid men however were not to be beaten and scores of 3 and 4 saw them home by 28 shots to 21.