‘STRIKE OUT HUNGER’ EVENT TO FEATURE PBA STARS

Eighteen PBA Tour stars will participate in a “Strike Out Child Hunger” fundraiser as part of the PBA’s visit to Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine, April 9-16.

The 2nd annual “Bowling for a Cause” pro-am event, which is being held in cooperation with a number of Portland area restaurants, will take place on Sunday, April 9 at 6 p.m., following the official practice session for the MaineQuarterly.com Mark Roth-Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship.

The pro-am will involve 18 teams bowling with PBA stars. Each team will be sponsored by a Portland-area restaurant for a minimum contribution of $1,000 per team. Last year’s inaugural event raised more than $10,000 to help combat childhood hunger issues in Maine. This year — with donations of food, $25 admission fees for spectators and other contributions — Child Hunger pro-am founder and Bayside Bowl co-owner, Justin Alfond, said the goal is to raise more than $20,000.

Players participating include D.J. Archer, Dom Barrett, Josh Blanchard, Parker Bohn III, Jakob Butturff, Ryan Ciminelli, Martin Larsen, Chris Loschetter, Danielle McEwan, Rhino Page, Sean Rash, Ronnie Russell, Anthony Simonsen, Tom Smallwood, Bryon Smith, John Szczerbinski, Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Dave Wodka.

Money raised during the pro-am will support Full Plates Full Potential, a non-profit organization that works to connect children with the reliable, nutritious meals they need in order to thrive. If you can’t attend the event in person, but would like to support the effort, you can make a donation in the name of your favorite bowler (https://www.fullplates.org/pba) or you can donate in the name of one of Portland’s participating restaurants (https://www.fullplates.org/events/bowl).

Lots of star bowlers will be in town for the tournament doubleheader and special pro-am. Here’s the roster of teams for the Roth-Holman Doubles Championship:

Dick Allen and Zeke Bayt

D.J. Archer and Shawn Maldonado

Dom Barrett and Osku Palermaa

Josh Blanchard and Andres Gomez

Parker Bohn III and Jason Sterner

Andrew Cain and Jakob Butturff

Tom Daugherty and Craig Nidiffer

John Furey and Joe Paluszek

Liz Johnson and Danielle McEwan

Tommy Jones and Chris Barnes

Anthony Lavery-Spahr and Sam Cooley

Wes Malott and Norm Duke

B.J. Moore III and Matt O’Grady

Bill O’Neill and Jason Belmonte

Greg Ostrander and A.J. Johnson

Rhino Page and Bryon Smith

Stephen Pavlinko and Alex Cavagnaro

Sean Rash and Ryan Ciminelli

Ronnie Russell and Chris Loschetter

Anthony Simonsen and Connor Pickford

Brett Spangler and Graham Fach

Jesper Svensson and Kyle Troup

John Szczerbinski and Francois Lavoie

E.J. Tackett and Marshall Kent

Jon Van Hees and Matt McNiel

Pete Weber and Tim Mack

Stuart Williams and Martin Larsen

Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Tom Smallwood

Dave Wodka and Jason Couch

Dwight Adams and Jeff Evans

Joseph Ramsdall III and Sarah Pelletier

Bayside Bowl invitational team to be announced