Pinelli Wins State Title With Fellow Section XI All-Stars

Talk about a breakout season.After bowling a 300 game, part of an 837 three-game series, back on December 11, Eastport South Manor junior Douglas Pinelli added New York State Champion to his resume when the Section XI, or Suffolk County, All-Star team took the top spot at the New York State Championships at AMF Strike ‘N’ Spare Lanes in Syracuse on March 8.Pinelli, whose made the All-Star team after finishing with an average in the top five in the county, became the first ESM boy to ever appear at states.Section XI, which won the state title for the second consecutive season, and the third time in the past four years, topped Section VI (Western New York), 6,219-5,985, in a six-game series. After the first three games, the teams were just 10 pins apart, but Section XI stepped up in the second half of the match to win it all.“It was a really awesome experience,” Pinelli said of the competition. “We all spent so much time together, since we practiced for a month, and we all became friends. It was really nice to see all that work pay off.“I think we were pretty confident,” he added. “I don’t want to brag, but we knew we were good team. We knew it was a going to be a battle there, and we just took it.”Pinelli’s high score of 254 came in game two. He said he remembered a tip ESM head coach Brian Sacks told him all season. “Coach has always told us to take an extra second at the line, focus on making the shot,” he explained. “I started off with a good shot or two—that got me focused on my game. The pins were going down, so …”Pinelli will be looking to finish in the top five in the county again next season so he can rejoin the All-Star team as a senior. “It’s been my goal to make this team for a while, and to have another year to do it, it’s something I’d want to do again,” he said. “Hopefully, I finish even higher in the county next season.”