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Bowler strikes perfection times 3
By Jay Morrison
Hamilton JournalNews
 Lonnie
Billiter Jr., left, is the eighth bowler to roll a U.S. Bowling
Congress-sanctioned 900 series.
FAIRFIELD - Lonnie Billiter Jr. recorded one of the rarest feats in all of
sports Monday night at Fairfield Lanes.
The 24-year-old Colerain Township resident rolled three consecutive 300
games to become just the eighth person to bowl a perfect, United States
Bowling Congress-sanctioned 900 series.
"It was never something I ever thought about doing, never even dreamed
it," the still-shaking Billiter said. "I'm still not settled down yet. I'm
just in a daze."
Midway through Billiter's third game, a crowd started building and people
began pouring into the building to witness what they hoped would be
history. One of them was Joel Ray, who until Monday held the Greater
Hamilton Bowling Association record with an 880 series.
Ray was at Northwest Lanes when he got a call on his cell phone.
"I flew down here," Ray said. "The place was packed, so all I could do was
stand on a chair in the bar. I couldn't even see him, just the pins. But I
was cheering for him all the way. I was actually getting teary-eyed."
Ray wasn't alone. By the time Billiter reached the sixth frame of his
third game, action on the other 39 lanes had stopped. The
shoulder-to-shoulder crowd stood eight rows deep, with about 20 to 30 more
people standing on chairs in the bar.
"I wasn't paying any attention to them," Billiter said. "I just kept my
head down."
With 33 strikes in the bag, Billiter stepped up in the 10th frame and
rolled three more perfect balls.
"After I threw the first nine, yeah, I knew I was going to do it,"
Billiter said. "I was pretty confident."
Once the final pin fell, the place erupted and Billiter was swarmed by
well-wishers. After receiving a kiss from girlfriend Lauren Denniston and
what seemed like hundreds of handshakes, Billiter made his way to the
house phone to call his mom, Debbie McKeehan.
"Someone's going to have to dial the numbers for me," Billiter said. "I
don't know if I'm ever going to stop shaking."
Publication date: 02-14-2006
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