Candlepin record falls at Metro Bowl on Ricci’s big night

Mark Ricci had a night to remember at Metro Bowl in Peabody recently.Ricci, a Lowell resident, broke a 3-string candlepin record with his 519 on Friday, Sept. 30, bettering the previous mark by five pins.”Someone went, ‘Wait a minute, that’s a world record!'” Ricci recalled. “I wasn’t even paying attention ? I found a zone and I couldn’t do anything wrong. It was very cool.”Ricci, 30, was at Metro Bowl that night competing for a team in the men’s professional travel league against a squad from Woburn. The team’s regular lineup includes Ricci, Mark Gregory, Dave Dupuis, Joe Tavernese and Chris Sargent, who also holds a world record.Ricci said he was prepared for a good match with his friendly rival, Artie Gendreau. Ricci recorded a 160 for the first string, and he and Gendreau were just beginning to pick up the pace.”My friend started bowling good,” Ricci said. “The next time I got up, every ball was a good ball. I felt real good afterwards.”Indeed, Ricci had a 157 for the second string, putting him at more than 300 for two (317, to be precise).”That set me up for a very big night,” Ricci said. “Looking at it, my own high triple was 478 at the same alley three years ago.”Ricci kept up his hot streak on the third string. Yet he was not the only member of his team having a good performance. He and his partner, Dupuis, were each accumulating strikes.”We had two guys with a chance to throw 200 in the same game,” Ricci said. “That’s unbelievably rare.”Dupuis finished with a 197. Ricci closed with a 202 to put himself over 500 and clinch the record.”The ball has always done very good things (for me) there,” Ricci said, noting that he has set personal records at Metro Bowl.After his milestone night, it was time for some pizza and Mountain Dew as Ricci celebrated with his girlfriend Melissa and two-year-old son Dominic.Asked why he likes bowling, Ricci said, “It’s beyond ‘like.’ I love this game. I wouldn’t be the person I am (without it).”A Somerville native, Ricci grew up in a bowling family, learning from his grandparents on both sides and seeing his parents play, too. He played in his first league when he was not much older than his son is now, and between the ages of five and 15, he bowled at Sacco’s in Davis Square.”I did everything except get my mail there,” he quipped.On a serious note, he said, “I saw myself getting good and stuck with it. It’s the biggest part of my life aside from my life with my girlfriend and 2-year-old son.”