Loss does not reflect dedication of Southold/Greenport bowling

Don’t let the final score fool you.

There was much more beneath the surface of Southold/Greenport’s 30-6 bowling loss to Comsewogue/Ward Melville on Monday.

Take, for example, what senior Evan Czartosieski and junior Asen Roussan accomplished at The All Star in Riverhead.

Czartosieski defeated Loy Saponara, Comsewogue’s top bowler, in two of three close encounters, while Roussan swept his series and produced six successive strikes to start his second game in the Suffolk County League IV match.

In fact, Czartosieski defeated Saponara by the closest of margins. He won the first game by one pin, 214-213, and the second contest by two, 181-179.

“Loy is a very, very good bowler,” Czartosieski said. “I won one game against him last year … This year, I hit my mark. I bowled very good those first two games. The last game just wasn’t the best. I didn’t really hit any of my marks. My speed was off, my rotation was off. But overall, I took two of three. That’s what I’m really pretty much happy about.”

Saponara won the third game, 195-166. Czartosieski rolled a 561 series.

“Evan did go up against their best player, which was a fantastic challenge for him,” Southold’s first-year coach Gregory Fothergill said. “He rose to the occasion. He never ducks from a challenge, which is a testament to him.”

Roussan started his second game on a perfect note.

“When I saw him get those first five, I was like, this could be the day we get that perfect game,” Fothergill said. “I started holding my breath a little bit. We felt the place get excited. Every time he stepped up, it was getting electric.”

Roussan knocked down eight pins in the seventh frame.

“I was just hitting the same shot every time, and that consistent shot really helped,” he said. “But Aaron [Davis] whispered in my ear and said, ‘Don’t look at the score too much,’ because I’ll get in my head and my heart will start pumping. I lost that narrow spot where I was getting consistent strikes.”

He finished at 209, defeating Jeff Harkins at 169.

“I would have liked to get a higher score,” Roussan said. “When I got those six strikes, I thought it was going to be a really high score. But overall, not too disappointed.”

Roussan finished with the Settlers’ high series at 565.

“This might be a series best for me,” he said. “Not quite the 600 series that I was hoping for, but still not too bad.”

Jefferson Garcia, who won one game (213), bowled a 515 series. Wyatt Watkins was at 469, Davis at 440, Leone Bartolani rolled a 267 over two games, and Jeff Heidtmann 138 in one.

Fothergill knew it was going to be difficult against the Spartans (7-1, 7-1). Ward Melville is a Class AAA school, Comsewogue AA. Southold/Greenport (3-5, 3-5) are Class C schools.

“That’s another reason why I’m really proud of them,” he said. “Sometimes when they go up against bigger schools, it gets in their head early. They didn’t let it get in their head early. They were giving it their all, which is great … It was close, but we tapered off a little bit at the end. That’s where that big school play comes into factor, because they’re going to have more depth.”

The loss won’t deter the Settlers from their goal of reaching the Section XI small schools competition again. Last year, they booked a spot during the Wild Card Tournament and finished 15th out of 16 teams as the smallest school competing in the counties.

This year’s Wild Card Tournament is scheduled for AMF Babylon Lanes on Tuesday, Feb. 3, with the small schools tournament set for Babylon on Saturday, Feb. 7.

“I want to get back to it just as much as everybody else,” Czartosieski said. “Last year was heartbreaking, coming second … But the fact that we won at Wild Card, and we’re going to win. Mark my words. We will win Wild Card this year. We will come top three, and we’re going to make a run for counties, just like we did last year.”

Fothergill agreed: “Absolutely, we can definitely make counties through the wild card, if not straight up. They’ve been building a fantastic program. I’m very thankful that it’s my first year, and I’m stepping into this position that we’re in. Expectations are high for the team. They also carry that same expectation. We want to make counties.”