Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, won his eighth career title and second of the 2009-10 season in the Professional Bowlers Association's Etonic Don Johnson Eliminator finals at Sequoia Pro Bowl Sunday, surviving a 10th-frame error to edge home-state favorite Brian Kretzer of Dayton, Ohio, 206-195, in the championship match.

Scroggins, 45, put together three strikes in the middle of the final game to pull away from Kretzer, but when he left and missed a 7 pin in the 10th frame, he gave Kretzer a chance to strike out for a tie. Kretzer got a break when he kicked out the 6 pin for his first strike in the 10th, but then he left the 2-4-5-8 on his second shot to end his hopes for his first title.

"I didn't miss a 7 pin all week," Scroggins said later. "I just got the ball a little left. I knew I missed it as soon as I let it go, and then I sat down and starting thinking about a roll-off."

"After finishing second in the U.S. Open last week, I wasn't expecting much," the 45-year-old Scroggins said. "But I got lined up after the first seven games and went from nowhere to somewhere."

With his second win of the year, Scroggins has become a candidate for PBA Player of the Year honors heading into the final three events of the season.

"I'm just trying to follow in Walter Ray Williams Jr.'s footsteps," he grinned. "He's been setting an example for us older guys."

Williams, at age 50, also is a two-time winner this season. Bill O'Neill, Williams and Scroggins are one-two-three in the PBA Player of the Year point standings.

Scroggins and Kretzer eliminated Finland's Osku Palermaa, who had the high score in the first round, to reach the title match. In the second game, Palermaa lost his pocket just long enough for Scroggins and Kretzer to sail past him. Scroggins had a string of seven strikes on his way to a 254 game, Kretzer almost matched him with a six-bagger for a 245 and Palermaa put together a late string of four strikes for a 211.

Reigning PBA Player of the Year Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, was the first player eliminated after bowling a 195 in the opening Eliminator game. Palermaa led the first round with a 233, Kretzer posted a 211 and Scroggins a 203 game.

During Sunday's finals, Jimmy Johnson, son of the late PBA Hall of Famer after whom the tournament is named, and his wife Minda presented a check to Nationwide Children's Hospital of Columbus and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for $40,826. The 2010 contribution brings the total raised during the tournament for Nationwide Children's Hospital to more than $100,000 over the past three years.

The Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour will take a week off during NCAA conference basketball playoffs week before returning to action in its own version of "March Madness," the Go RVing Match Play Championship March 17-21 at Norwich Bowling and Entertainment Center in Norwich, Conn.

Reigning PBA Player of the Year Wes Malott will take on a diverse field in the Professional Bowlers Association's Etonic Don Johnson Eliminator finals at Sequoia Pro Bowl Sunday, including Ohio native Brian Kretzer, U.S. Open runner-up Mike Scroggins and Finland’s two-handed star, Osku Palermaa.

Kretzer, Malott, Scroggins and Palermaa emerged Saturday as survivors of three rounds of elimination games by dominating their respective four-player groups.

Kretzer, a 43-year-old veteran who has bowled 166 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour events without winning a title, eliminated Mika Koivuniemi, Mike DeVaney and Michael Haugen Jr. to win his bracket. He topped Haugen, the top seed in his bracket, 221-210, in the final game for a 659-650 come-from-behind win in the three-game total pinfall Eliminator round.

"Winning out here isn't easy," Kretzer said. "If (a title) comes, it comes, but I'm not concerned about it. I don't make that many TV shows, so it'll be exciting, and to do it this close to home will make it a little extra special."

Palermaa, who bowled in the tournament on a PBA Commissioner's Exemption, topped Sean Rash, Brad Angelo and Ryan Shafer to win his group. The 28-year-old two-handed player won the Dubai Open a week ago in the United Arab Emirates, bowled a weekend tournament in Barcelona, Spain, and then made a quick stop in Sweden on his way to Columbus. In his only previous American television appearance, he finished fifth in the 2004 U.S. Open as an amateur.

"That was a learning experience," Palermaa said. "My goal in being here is to get a chance to bowl full-time on the PBA Tour next year. To be the best, you have to bowl against the best. When I’m bowling my best, I can beat anyone."

Malott earned his spot in the finals with a 700-697 win over non-titlist Steve Harman of Indianapolis after topping Tommy Jones and Mike Fagan in the first two Eliminator rounds. The Pflugerville, Texas, resident has had a solid year, but has yet to win a title in the 2009-10 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season.

"I've been fighting my timing. I've been close a couple of times, but this year things haven't been falling my way. Last year, things went right for me," Malott said. "It's frustrating. It's amazing how fast momentum changes in sports. But I have some confidence going into the show Sunday. I feel like I'm close to 100 percent compared to where I have been. I hope I can get a win. I’m missing that."

Scroggins, the only left-hander to make the 16-player Eliminator Round, overcame a 35-pin deficit after one game to cruise past non-titlist Joe Bailey of Doylestown, Ohio, 624-563, for the final berth in Sunday's finals. He also eliminated Colombia’s Andres Gomez and Bill O'Neill in his first two Eliminator rounds. Scroggins won the Red, White and Blue Open presented by USBC in December and finished second to O’Neill in the U.S. Open last Sunday. He came into the Eliminator tired, but filled with confidence.

"The U.S. Open kinda drains you," Scroggins said, "but the 28 qualifying games here actually helped me out. After the first seven games, I starting getting my legs back under me, and after bowling the U.S. Open last week, it kinda felt like bowling league back home. The scores were pretty high."

The Eliminator format took a toll quickly on two of the top four seeds. Rash got off to a slow start in Group A before rolling a 266 game to finish his round, but his 622 three-game series wasn't enough to overcome an early 57-pin deficit. In Group B, Jones' 617 series wasn't enough to survive the first round. O'Neill was knocked out of Group D after posting a 537 series in the second round. Haugen was the only top seed to make it to the final round before losing in Group C to Kretzer.

All four group winners will meet in Sunday's live ESPN finals starting at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, bowling concurrently in the first game. The player with the lowest game will be eliminated. The three survivors will bowl a second game, with another player eliminated. The two survivors will then bowl for the title and a $25,000 first prize.

Third-year touring player Steve Harman jumped from 14th place into the lead in the Etonic Don Johnson Eliminator Thursday at Sequoia Pro Bowl, averaging 240.86 over 14 qualifying games to take a 45-pin lead over first-round leader Michael Haugen Jr. of Carefree, Ariz.

Harman, who is trying for his first Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour title, averaged 255 during the second round in his best performance of the season, finishing with a 3,372 pinfall total. Haugen, a two-time PBA Tour title winner, had 3,327 pins.