Second Perfect Game Powers Brandon Runk To Second Place
Hayden Stippich maintained his PBA Tour Trials lead after the third round of competition Wednesday afternoon at Bowlero Randall Road.
The two-handed lefty leads the 90-player field with a total pinfall of 4,288 (+688) through 18 of 48 games.
Brandon Runk, a fellow Quaker State southpaw, sits in second place at +658. Andrew Hall, Tim Foy Jr. and Pete Vergos round out the top five.
Runk shot 300 on Tuesday’s 35-foot oil pattern, and added another perfect game on today’s 41-foot pattern. He said with the tournament’s high-scoring pace, capitalizing on a good pair is very important.
“I’m trying to build as big of a cushion as I can,” Runk said. “Anything to get that separation, especially in the spot I'm in from 12th. That's mostly my goal in these first two patterns, going into the 44- and 47-foot patterns when probably the lefties won’t have it like the righties will. Obviously it's all theoretical — you don't know how the lanes going to play until you bowl — but with how things usually go, you don't want to take the risk of needing games on the longer patterns when you, especially as a lefty, don't know if it's going to be there.”
Runk, who finished the 2022 PBA Tour 44th in points, finished the past two seasons in 54th and 86th, respectively. He said he has been working with a mental-game counselor, Jamie Kulaga, to help better stay in the moment.
“I've always had the tendency to chase scores that aren't there. You can't do that out here, so I just been really focusing on just filling a frame and just moving on to the next,” Runk said.
Runk’s brother-in-law, Anthony Neuer, sits in sixth place, followed by Tim Cagle II, Chase Nadeau, Frank Snodgrass, Dean Vargo, Brad Miller and Nathan Bohr, who ranks 12th at +512.
The top 12 players after Friday’s competition will earn exempt status on the 2025 PBA Tour, which includes priority entry for all 2025 PBA Tour events and eligibility for the PBA Elite League draft.
Foy, Cagle, Ryan Barnes and Nathan Ruest-Lajoie also added perfect games as well during the third round.
Cagle would technically be classified as a two-handed left-hander, but nothing about his game abides by conventional definitions. Rather than a typical release — two-handed or one-handed — Cagle pushes the ball forward from his chest or hips, depending on how he’s playing the lanes on a given day.
“My whole life, I've been told to go normal two-handed,” Cagle said. “I was [starting] around the same time as Jason Belmonte was getting popular, and people were telling me I need to do what Belmo is doing, because obviously Belmo is great. But I don't know what it is, I could not do it. My body wouldn't allow me to do it. So I've just stuck with my way, the whole way.
“It’s been my dream since I was a kid to be on tour,” Cagle added. “The way I throw the ball, it would not be ideal for the PBA Tour, but I want to prove everybody wrong. That's what I'm here to do.”
The fourth round of PBA Tour Trials will begin at 6 p.m. Central (7 p.m. Eastern) on Wednesday again at Bowlero Randall Road.
All rounds of PBA Tour Trials will be livestreamed on BowlTV.
More information on PBA Tour Trials is available here.
Round 3 Leaders
- Hayden Stippich, 4,288 (+688)
- Brandon Runk, 4,258 (+658)
- Andrew Hall, 4,250 (+650)
- Tim Foy Jr., 4,249 (+649)
- Pete Vergos, 4,240 (+640)
- Anthony Neuer, 4,239 (+639)
- Tim Cagle II, 4,205 (+605)
- Chase Nadeau, 4,180 (+580)
- Frank Snodgrass, 4,150 (+550)
- Dean Vargo, 4,142 (+542)
- Brad Miller, 4,126 (+526)
- Nathan Bohr, 4,112 (+512)
PBA Tour Trials Schedule
All times listed in Central
Monday, Aug. 19 — Pre-Tournament Qualifier
Results
Tuesday, Aug. 20 — Bowlero Woodridge
11 a.m. — Qualifying Round 1 (six games; 35’ PBA pattern)
6 p.m. — Qualifying Round 2 (six games; 35’ PBA pattern)
Wednesday, Aug. 21 — Bowlero Randall Road
11 a.m. — Qualifying Round 1 (six games; 41’ PBA pattern)
6 p.m. — Qualifying Round 2 (six games; 41’ PBA pattern)
Thursday, Aug. 22 — Bowlero Mount Prospect
11 a.m. — Qualifying Round 1 (six games; 44’ PBA pattern)
6 p.m. — Qualifying Round 2 (six games; 44 PBA pattern)
Friday, Aug. 23 — Bowlero Deer Park
11 a.m. — Qualifying Round 1 (six games; 47 PBA pattern)
6 p.m. — Qualifying Round 2 (six games; 47 PBA pattern)
Top 12 players qualify for 2025 PBA Tour exempt status