Ozio Falls a Step Down the Ladder for the Finals

David Ozio, an avid angler who eventually wants a second career as a bass fisherman, let a big one get away Friday night at the AC Delco Classic at Cal Bowl in Lakewood.

Ozio, 41, a Hall of Fame bowler from Vidor, Texas, was 80 pins ahead of Tom Baker and needed only to stay within 50 in their final game to earn the top seeding going into today’s step-ladder finals. It would have given him an excellent chance at the $48,000 first prize.

But Baker, 41, of Buffalo, N.Y., had strikes in all but the first and fourth frames en route to bowling a 268. Ozio still could have secured the top seeding with two strikes in the 10th frame, but rolled a nine on his first ball and finished with a 216.

The 30-pin bonus awarded match-play winners gave Baker a 9,901 pin total for three days, compared to Ozio’s 9,899.

In the step-ladder format, beginning at noon today, the fifth-seeded bowler, Jim Johnson of Wilmington, Del., plays No. 4 Bob Benoit of Topeka, Kan. The winner plays No. 3 Bob Learn Jr of Erie, Pa., with that winner playing No. 2 Ozio to determine who goes against Baker for the title.

“I really didn’t think I could catch him,� said Baker, a seven-time champion who hadn’t advanced to the finals since 1994 and last won a PBA title in 1986. “I was just trying to bowl a good game and have nobody catch me for second place. But then I started stringing ‘em [strikes], and I struck out and finished on top.

“It’s been 10 years since I won. So for me to lead at this point really does a lot to help get my confidence back.�

Ozio’s confidence might be somewhat shaken, but the 11-time champion, who won this event in 1991, still has to be considered a favorite to at least earn a rematch against Baker.

And one of these days he hopes to be a favorite out on the lakes.