Perfection: Carter Colby becomes first Pleasant bowler to roll a 300 game

MARION — Nolan Ludwig didn't hesitate in his advice. Carter Colby didn't hesitate in heeding it.

"He’s one of my good friends, and you have to help out your teammates when you can," Ludwig said. "We’ve had matches together and have paired together for almost every match now. Usually if he’s struggling, I can give him some advice and help him out. I know his game. A team is a team, and you have to work together."

Colby was struggling during Pleasant's boys bowling match last week against Highland at Cooper's Bowl in Marion. The junior shot 175 and thought head coach Bill Ludwig was going to pull him from the lineup for the second regulation game.

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Instead of getting benched, Colby got a pep talk.

"I told him to move a little right and you’ll be fine," the coach said. "He had three splits the first game. He had three bad shots where he let up on the ball speed, and it went through the nose. His shot was there, just had to move him a little bit."

That's what the coach's son told him to do, too.

"Honestly, I listened to Nolan," Colby said. "Nolan told me to move right, so I moved right with my feet, three (boards). That’s what he told me to do, and I did it and it started working. I started rolling it consistently, and there’s a little luck involved, too."

Stringing strikes together

The fix was immediate. Colby started throwing strikes.

"I’ve had a lot in a row before, like six or seven," Colby said of his hot streak. "It doesn’t really get to me because I never expect to shoot it. As soon as I got to nine and I was in that 10^th frame, I was like, ‘Oh man, I can really do this here.’"

To roll a perfect game of 300 in bowling requires 12 straight strikes, with three balls coming in the 10th frame.

"When he was bowling his string of strikes, I just let him do him," Nolan said.

The coach noticed the nerves getting to Colby after the ninth frame, and had one more talk with him. He told Colby that he got lucky in a recent league game en route to his own perfect game, throwing a couple of Brooklyns in the 10th frame — shots that hit the left side of the head pin and pocket from a right-handed bowler.

And on his next roll, that's exactly what happened to Colby.

"The first shot I threw was not a great shot," he admitted. "I was nervous on that one, but it still struck and I got lucky. The second one I wasn’t nervous. The final shot I was shaking. I was really nervous."

But he met the challenge. Both Ludwigs said his final two throws were no-doubters.

Colby makes history

"It was the most nerve-racking, but it was also the best shot I’ve thrown," Colby said of finishing his perfect game. "It was a roller coaster of emotions because I was really nervous and I was getting really hyped, and then I had to calm down a little bit and get settled down for the Baker games. I was really excited, especially because it was the first one in school history."

In Marion County, Jayden Combs at Marion Harding and Nick Manning at River Valley have thrown 300s in high school matches. Now add Colby as the first from Pleasant to do it.

"He’s been bowling for about a year-and-a-half. He’s practiced all summer long. He’s put in the work, and he’s a great bowler," said Nolan, who has a 299 on his record. "I've been close many times. The 10th frame gets me."

But last week, it didn't get Colby.

"Driving home, I couldn’t believe I did it. Everybody congratulating me was super exciting," he said.

rmccurdy@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: How did Carter Colby achieve Pleasant bowling history?