Woodbridge's Stoveken throws third perfect game

James Stoveken is becoming a Greater Middlesex Conference powerhouse, and it's only his first year.

The Woodbridge freshman bowled his third perfect game of the season in a 4-0 victory match against North Brunswick on Monday.

"He just finds his own way,” Woodbridge coach Amanda Small said about Stoveken's on-lane demeanor. “He talks to everybody, and he really calmed down a bit since the start of the season. He just developed a focus that once he's lined in, he's lined in.”

Stoveken rolled his first pair of 300-pin games less than a month apart.

“It feels good, but I never expected it to happen,” he said. “I guess it shows I'm good enough. It doesn't get old. It feels good, but not as good first one.”

Woodbridge bowlers roll perfect games

On Saturday, Stoveken and the rest of the Barrons (13-5-1) came out victorious in the Joe Romer Memorial Tournament.

They out-scored St. Joseph (16-1) by 12 pins, 420-408.

“In the tournament you have two frames a game that you have to fill,” Small said. “It gets loud, it gets very competitive, but they focused in and stayed calm.”

Before taking on the Falcons, first Woodbridge, which qualified third, had to get past East Brunswick in the opening round and South Brunswick in the second round.

The Barrons are seeded fourth in the Greater Middlesex Conference tournament. St. Joseph sits at third, Sayreville at second and East Brunswick has the top seed. The preliminary round is scheduled for Monday, and the opening round of the tournament will be on Tuesday.

Pairings in the GMC Tournament

17-New Brunswick at 16-Bishop Ahr, winner at 1-East Brunswick; 20-J.P. Stevens at 13-Piscataway, winner at 4-Woodbridge; 19-Perth Amboy at 14-J.F. Kennedy, winner at 3-St. Joseph 18-Middlesex at 15-North Brunswick, winner at 2-Sayreville; 9-Carteret at 8-South River; 12-Old Bridge at 5-South Brunswick; 11-Colonia at 6-Edison; 10-South Plainfield at 7-Monroe.

Staff writer Alyssa Davis: adavis3@gannettnj.com