September 9, 2024 Nolan Hughes

Throughout the first season of the revamped PBA Elite League presented by Snickers, the Portland Lumberjacks demonstrated why they have bowled in each of the last four Elias Cup championships.

The 9-5 Lumberjacks earned the No. 2 seed and a one-round bye in the playoffs, taking the tiebreaker over the Akron Atom Splitters by virtue of their 2-0 head-to-head record.

What makes this team different (or not) than past iterations? Let’s find out.

Roster

Manager: Tim Mack
Protected players: Kris Prather, Kyle Troup
Draft picks: Wes Malott (returning), Graham Fach (returning), Tom Smallwood, Arturo Quintero (returning)

The Lumberjacks brought back their entire 2023 roster and added a two-time major champion in Smallwood.

High Point: Round 14

Needing a win to secure the two-seed and a bye, Portland — without Troup and Smallwood out with injuries — took on Jason Belmonte’s Lucky Strike L.A. X. 

Not only did Mack call up Eric Jones as a replacement, but he put the 19-year-old in the anchor position — and the kid delivered. Jones struck on three shots to give Portland momentum heading into a roll-off, setting up Quintero and Prather to push Portland across the finish line.

It was a reminder that Portland, though rife with star talent, is more than the sum of their parts.

Low Point: Rounds 5-6

A sweep at the hands of Las Vegas and Motown in Missouri dropped Portland to 3-3 and fourth in the standings.

While they lost both matches in a roll-off, the Lumberjacks only rolled games of 178, 193, 203 and 221, far below their league-leading season average of 218.21.

Turning Point: Rounds 7-8

A win over L.A. X in Indiana kick started a five-match winning streak, which ultimately propelled Portland to the bye. Reversing their trend from the previous week, the Lumberjacks fired three games north of 240 on the evening.

Portland polished off a vengeful season sweep of the Waco Wonders, who prevailed over Portland in last year’s Elias Cup Finals, with a roll-off win in Round 8.

Biggest Strength: Experience

The Lumberjacks return all five players from last year’s runner-up squad and four of five players from their 2022 championship team, which overcame an 0-2 deficit in the 2022 Elias Cup Finals.

It’s hard to see any adversity fazing the Lumberjacks in Portland, especially with the hometown crowd behind them.

Biggest Weakness: Lineup Flexibility

Mack is the janitor who has worked at the high school for 45 years; he has 200 keys on his waistband and he knows which door every single one opens.

So who am I, a man behind a keyboard, to say which key Mack should use? Perhaps a foolish one, but I’ll bite.

Mack has often been loyal to Malott and Troup in the anchor position, though he has been more willing to tinker with his lineup in recent years. But if Fach has a look like he did last year — where he struck on all 10 of his televised shots — moving the Canadian to anchor might be the all-in move needed to bring home a fourth Elias Cup.

Non-Bowling Team Comparison: 2013 or 2014 Miami Heat

Much like the LeBron-era Heatles, the Lumberjacks consistently find a way to make the dance.

Malott is no longer the world-beater he was in 2009, but he can channel it when the team needs him. Troup and Prather have seen their careers blossom since joining the squad and the newer players know nothing but the Elias Cup Finals.

But will this group continue its dominant run by winning another title, or succumb to a vengeful opponent as the core grew stale?