Ocean Grove scored a resounding win against BMS in the Geelong Ballarat Premier Division bowls competition on Saturday.
The Grovers are in second spot on the ladder and had a comfortable 50-shot victory against the Ballarat-based side.
Two rinks were closely contested, but Grove had big wins in the other two rinks with skips Tony Joel and Craig Hodges leading the way.
In Division One, Ocean Grove went down by eight shots to Torquay. Michael Allen and Alan Callow skipped their rinks to victory, but Torquay was too good and took third place on the ladder from Grove, which is fourth.
Grove lost to Bareena in Division Three. The six-shot loss put Grove in fifth place on the ladder despite the best efforts of Trevor Turnley’s rink, which scored a 26-19 win.
The battle for top spot is heating up in Division Four with Leopold breathing life into the competition. Grove retains top spot, but Leopold’s win over the Grovers on Saturday has closed the gap. Leopold won by 30 shots in a convincing display.
Ocean Grove gave Clifton Springs a hiding in Division Six. The 133 to 65 win was highlighted by Brian Ryan’s rink of Bryan Olsen, Douglas Gorwell and Peter Snell winning 45 to 3. Grove is in third spot on the ladder.
The Division Seven match was a battle of the two best teams and it didn’t disappoint. Belmont beat Grove in a close game 93 to 88 to grab top spot with the Grovers in second. Both sides won two rinks each and these two teams will likely feature heavily come finals time.
Highton scored a decisive win over Grove in Division Eight – 76 to 40. David Harvey’s rink emerged victorious, but Belmont was too good on the day.
Bell Post Hill won by four shots against Grove in Division 10 – 44 to 40. It put the winners into second spot on the ladder with Grove not far behind in third. Frank Wheat’s rink scored a 22-all draw and Brian Sutterby’s rink played well, but went down by four shots, giving BPH the win.
