Suburban Bowlerama foursome rolls nation's second-best series of 2024

Greg Bruff's evening at Suburban Bowlerama on Monday, April 15, got off to a forgettable start. He left his bowling shoes and balls at home and had to call his wife, Amy, to bring them to the lanes. He warmed up with a 12-pound plastic house ball and pair of rental shoes.

By the time his wife arrived with his equipment, his teammates were in the second frame. He had to catch up with them, and he did so by rolling two strikes. 

Little did he suspect it was a start of a memorable evening. The Manchester southpaw rolled games of 300, 300 and 237 for an 837 series.

Bruff and his Real Estate Exposure teammates Jimmy Plessinger (781), Brandon Hinderer (765) and Andrew Hurst (716) combined to post a 3,099 series, the second highest in the nation this season according to bowl.com, the official website of the United States Bowling Congress.

A foursome from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, has the high series for the season with a 3,139. The Suburban quartet also surpassed the previous York County record of 3,064.

Bruff reeled off 28 strikes in a row before he was stopped by a stubborn 10-pin in the fifth frame of the third game.

"I was locked in and loose," said the 42-year-old Bruff, who is being treated for Stage 4 colorectal cancer with lung metastasis. "I was in the flow. My small misses were carrying, and I just had to make small adjustments from game to game. It was a great feeling."

More:Local wrestlers close memorable weekend at US Olympic Trials

More:South Western baseball, softball teams both thriving in perfect seasons

More:Spring Grove girls' track duo shines at Shippensburg

After Plessinger bowled 16 games in the BowlerMaxx York County Match Play Championship the weekend before, he didn’t exactly feel like returning to the lanes for a third straight long night. But he was unable to find a substitute. He surprised himself by rolling a 781 series, a stellar score despite being overshadowed by Bruff’s 837.

"Watching Greg roll the first 28 strikes was the highlight of the night," Plessinger said. "You could tell he was in a zone. It was very impressive. There for a while, I thought he had an excellent chance at a 900 series."

Hinderer added: "We're all capable of rolling high scores, but the 3,099 series was completely unexpected. Greg's 28 consecutive strikes were mesmerizing. His performance pumped everyone up and we fed off of each other."

The team didn't know what the high series was for a four-man team this season until Hurst looked it up on his phone late in the 10th frame of the final game.

"We could have topped 3,139 if we had a better 10th frame," Plessinger said. "We definitely left some pins out there."

The previous York County record of 3,064 pins in a four-man team series was set by Tanner Laughman, Eric Smith, Paul Wolfram and Jacob Hawkins in October 2018, also at Suburban Bowlerama.

Real Estate Exposures

Andrew Hurst             266      197      253      716

Brandon Hinderer       227      219      259      765

Jimmy Plessinger       258      257      266      781

Greg Bruff                  300      300      237      837

                                                            Total   3099