Grant Pillik expected a successful year out of the Bordentown Regional High School boys bowling team.
Few, including Pillik, could have foreseen four years ago how much he’d contribute to the Scotties success.
Pillik bowled only a handful of games as a freshman. He averaged 113.5 in his limited varsity appearances and had a high game of 158. As a senior now, he had a 265 game at the Burlington County Scholastic League Tournament and has posted a team-high average of 196.69.
“I definitely look back and see how far I came,” Pillik said. “I never thought that I would be a 196 average because, I mean, it’s definitely hard maintaining that. I had two bad games and I’m still 196. I never thought I’d be this high on the team as well, and being a leader on the team.”
Pillik did, however, expect a big season out of the Scotties in his final year and they have delivered. Bordentown improved to 18-0-2 with a 2-0 win over Point Pleasant Boro in the Central Jersey Group 2 quarterfinals. Seeded third, they were scheduled to take on second-seeded Neptune in the semifinals.
“I thought the boys would be pretty good,” said Bordentown head coach Ron Jones. “I did lose a couple of really good players, but the other guys, they stepped up.”
Jones and assistant coach Kim Fithen were thrilled too to see the Scotties girls bowling team pull off an upset to reach the sectional semifinal. Seeded fifth in South Jersey, Group 1, the Bordentown girls beat fourth-seeded West Deptford, 2-0, to advance to face top-seeded Clayton. Gracie Tyler had the high game (181) and the high set (358) to help the Scotties improve to 17-4. They went 12-1 in the BCSL Patriot Division.
“The girls have four losses, but they’ve been few and far between, and they spaced them out,” said Jones. “They’ve had a great year.”
Pillik paced the Scotties boys team in their sectional win over sixth-seeded Point Pleasant with a 232 high game and 428 for the two-game series. Fellow seniors Joey Klama (392) and Lucien Carr (352) along with sophomore Ken Teague (410) and junior Tyler Brown (350) helped Bordentown to a convincing win. Bordentown won the first game, 920-706, and the second game, 1,012-825, to advance.
“They’ve been good,” Jones said. “I can’t complain about anything except not being able to substitute as freely as I would like to.”
Jones actually has seven very strong bowlers and a fourth senior, Cooper Bolis, but only needs five bowlers in each match.
“Joey, this is only his third year, he didn’t bowl when he was a freshman,” Jones said. “He came on as a sophomore, picked it up and he’s pretty much been our No. 3 all along. Tyler Brown has done very well. Ryan Wood has done very well. I consider myself lucky to have a seven-deep squad and I only need five which means two guys are being used sparingly, more or less.”
Pillik is proud to be a part of a solid class and a team that made it back-to-back BCSL Tournament titles on February 6. The Scotties were looking to finish their season with a sectional tournament run.
“I thought that the team has handled everything perfectly up to our tournaments,” Pillik said. “We placed fourth or fifth in the holiday tournament and the BCS Open, we actually won. It’s definitely coming down to my role. Me and Lucien have bowled phenomenally those days and it’s definitely a team effort and to see how far the boys have come since last year, it’s definitely a good feeling to have.”
The team success was something they had anticipated. But until last year’s breakthrough season, there hadn’t been as much expected of Pillik. He also is team captain for the boys golf team this spring and last fall, he played soccer. Whichever season he is in has taken precedent, and going into last year he made a big change in his bowling style.
“Sophomore year, I was actually one-handed and then going into junior year I switched during the states practices,” Pillik said. “I was on JV. So going into junior year, I switched over the last couple practices. I switched to two hands and my average shot up 30 pins and I was like, ‘You know what, I’m going to stick with this.’ I got a couple lessons from Dave (Kline at Hamilton Lanes) and it was a big difference.”
Pillik had averaged 158.71 pins per game as a sophomore. That number skyrocketed to 186.89 in his junior year with a high game of 279.
“Definitely switching to two hands, I don’t want to say it’s a cheat code, but it definitely has a lot more room for improvement and less error,” he said. “So switching from one hand to two hands was for me and a bunch of other kids on our team — our entire team is two hands — so we all can help each other out. So it just shot me up like crazy. And it definitely is a little harder to get good at, but to continue being good is a lot easier than one hand.”
Pillik had always considered the possibilities with it, but didn’t make the switch full-time until his final two seasons of high school. It’s made for huge improvements, and this year his game average is up another 10 pins.
“It’s just more consistent,” Pillik said. “Holding a 15-pound ball with one hand is difficult for throwing 30 frames a day, and using two hands it’s definitely not as tiring on the body and it gives you consistency. And bowling is all about consistency, so you got to be consistent and hold the same line all day.”
Pillik’s 265 earned him high game and helped him to high series at the BCSL Tournament. He’s been reliable all year for the Scotties.
“He’s just focused,” Jones said. “He’s got himself in a good spot. The other day he had a practice where he had two games where he had nine strikes in each of the two games. He had a 268 and a 271.”
Pillik will shift his focus this spring to golf. It’s another sport where he has to play well as an individual to help the overall team score. He spends time in the summer on his golf game, and is looking for a strong spring coming off his bowling season. “Last year I was around an 11 handicap on 18 holes, so I’m trying to work my way to single-digit handicap,” he said.
There is golf in Pillik’s immediate future when he pushes bowling to the side for the spring, but he’s not giving up the game in which he’s seen so much improvement over the last two years. He’s gotten so much more out of bowling than he ever expected, and he’s not done yet.
“I’ve definitely thought about trying to get my PBA card, so go to a bunch of tournaments and average a certain number and try to qualify for a couple tournaments,” Pillik said. “One of our alums has a PBA card so it’s definitely possible. I definitely don’t want to stop bowling after high school.”
