The Lawrence High boys and girls bowling squads got in one last dual Tuesday at Royal Crest Lanes, facing Olathe East before the Lions play host to regionals Saturday at the same alley.

For the girls, it was business as usual as they bowled over the Eagles, 2,091-1,596.

“To finish with a win is important going into regional, because their confidence level needs to be up,” LHS coach Greg Farley said.

Despite not having the top girls bowler, the consistent play of Dequesne Sprow and teammates Tiffany Demaline (543), Jessica Wyatt (519) and Mallory Hughes (446) lifted the Lions (12-2).

Sprow finished with a 583 series, saving her best game for last with a 233. But that still wasn’t good enough, she said.

“I didn’t do my greatest today,” Sprow said. “The lanes were (more oily) than normal, and I just couldn’t find my mark exactly, but I did all right.”

It was more heartache for the boys’ team, however, as their 2,131-2,117 loss brought their season record to a dismal 4-10.

But Farley expects his team to put the regular season in the past come Saturday.

“We haven’t improved as much I would have liked over the course of the year,” the LHS coach said. “And they have a chance to change the perception of the team on Saturday. If they can perform well at regional, then you don’t even think about the regular season. If you can qualify your team for state, the regular season is forgotten.”

Leading the way for the Loins was Mark Mercer, who had games of 172, 179 and 234 for a 585 series.

“I started off kind of average, but I really found my mark on the third game with my career high at 234,” Mercer said.

Farley said there was a simple solution to the boys’ troubles.

“What they need to do is, they need to make sure that they close out tenth frames,” Farley said. “We struggled with that with the boys team all year, where we’ve left the tenth open.”

Mercer said he hoped the team could revert back to its early season performances.

“Today was kind of a reality check,” Mercer said. “It’s not close to where we need to be. We’ve bowled much better than this, earlier in the year, and I hope we can turn it around.”

FSHS bowlers fall

Olathe – The Free State High squads lost Tuesday to Olathe Northwest. Tyler Bradshaw rolled a 639 series for the Free State boys, but it wasn’t enough in a 2,330-2,226 loss. Melissa Burnside led the Free State girls with a 549 series, but the Firebirds fell, 2,218-1,903. The Firebirds will play in regionals Saturday.