Marshalltown boys’ bowling did not have its best day Tuesday against Des Moines East. Not one bowler hit 400 in the individual series, and it was a closer match than it was in 2021. But for the youthful Bobcats, it was a situation they needed to experience, head coach Nate Clark said after a 2,612-2,556 victory.

“It’s a big growing experience for them,” Clark said. “We started rough, but around the second Baker game we turned it on.

“It’s a team game, two bowlers can’t give you all your pins. It’s important that everybody contributes.”

The Marshalltown seniors were off on Tuesday, with Damon Borton’s series of 143-225–368 and Aaron Ratte’s 150-217-367 series coming up short of freshman Aidan Cowen’s team-high 153-219-372 series.

Other counting scores were Jayden Beichley at 150-190-340 and Gage Grieves at 145-137-282.

Leading 1,729-1,664 heading into the Baker games it was important for the Bobcats to at the minimum hold their ground and not allow a late rally from the Scarlets. Marshalltown gained ground in the first two games but was outscored 892-883 by East in the finals tally, leading to a slim margin of victory.

The youth on the Bobcats did well in the Bakers and Clark said they’ve shown solid growth already at this point in the season.

“Most of those freshmen started with 140-150 pin averages and now they’re at 160-170 averages,” Clark said. “We’ve already jumped about 20 pins in three weeks.”

Marshalltown girls’ bowling had a smoother path to victory, clearing the 2,000 point mark to defeat East 2,051-1,329 and improve to 3-0 on the season.

Seniors Autumn Thompson and Madison Pickett led the way again for the Bobcats, with Pickett putting together a 158-181-339 series while Thompson had 153-163-316.

Sydney May put together a decent round with 130-123-253 and Devin Peterson went 87-125-212. Kenedy Lammert and Katelyn Schwartz tied at 208 for the final counting spot. Leading 1,328-959 heading into the Baker games, the Bobcats were able to extend their lead substantially.

Head girls coach Dustin Peterson said Baker games are a big focus for the Bobcats due to their importance in qualifying for the state tournament.

“For a team to go to state, basically Bakers is the game,” Peterson said. “So we know we need to get our averages up to the 170s to even be considered.

“We’ve really been making steps each week.”

Marshalltown hosts Ottumwa next Tuesday at Wayward Social.