Pete Patellis rolls 806, but hold the tartar sauce

John Bassetti \ Bowling

As a financial analyst with Akron General Hospital, Pete Patellis crunches numbers all day.

Then, once a week in the evening, he’s back crunching more numbers, ones that represent pins.

All the thousands and millions by day are rendered insignificant by night when an 806 comes along.

Usually, Patellis wouldn’t give those three digits a second look, but he did on Feb. 26 when the 39-year-old Canfield resident rolled his second-highest series.

It came in the Belchyk/Action Plumbing Classic at Holiday Bowl, where his once-a-week bowling plays second fiddle to his family and job.

When you’ve got a 3-year-old with the initials M.V.P. — Michael Vincent Patellis — you’d better pay special attention to what’s at home.

“It was one of those nights when the ball wasn’t hooking a lot, for whatever reason,” Pete Patellis said, diverting his thoughts from a fish value meal with lettuce and tomato but no tartar sauce and a large Dr. Pepper while talking on his cellphone from the drive-up window of a fast-food restaurant in Akron during his lunch break.

“The oil pattern was such that I didn’t have a lot of area to play on the lane,” Patellis said. “My ball doesn’t hook much to begin with, so, by slowing it down, I was able to hit my target and get reaction [on the back end].”

The 806 was second-highest to an 813 he rolled in 2001.

Patellis, who grew up in Campbell, has five 300s to his credit.

As of Feb. 26, the 806 was Belchyk’s sixth and the 19th 800-or-better at Holiday this season.

“My consistency has been awful,” Patellis said of his surprise series. “I don’t have time to practice to keep my rhythm.”

Besides his analyst job, Patellis also manages the YMCA-Boardman Davis Building on Saturday mornings.

“I’ve got two jobs and two kids. That’s why the 806 is special.”

Belchyk/Action has undergone some changes in the past few years. It was the Pyramid League before merging with the Ferkula Classic.

Pete started bowling at Bowladrome, but his first adult league was Mahoning Valley Men in 1990. He then jumped to the Pyramid.

“I joined because I wanted to push myself to see how I’d do against better bowlers in the area.”

Besides MVP, Pete and his wife, the former Salena Malutic, have a 4-month-old, Logan Alexander.

In Window World Wednesday Night Men at Boardman, week 24 was highlighted by Will Larson’s 300 — his third of the season.

George’s Music Shop had a couple of high games with Willie McGaha rolling 300-759 and John Faison 290-715 on Feb. 23 at Wedgewood.

Darla Schumacher, who carries a 160 average in the Knights of the Round Table at Boardman, bowled 91 pins over her average with a 251 game — Round Table’s all-time high single for women.