by Jerry Schneider

Trying for his first PBA50 Tour win of the season, Pete Weber moved a step closer to that goal Tuesday by taking the lead after the second round of the PBA50 Pro Bowl West Fort Wayne Classic presented by Ebonite.

The PBA Hall of Famer and 2013 PBA50 Rookie of the Year bowled games of 289, 222, 258, 238, 258, 257, 244 and 247 in Tuesday’s second round at Pro Bowl West to top the field with a 16-game overall pinfall of 3,982.

“It’s a higher scoring condition so it’s a matter of finding the right ball and angle to the pocket, then it’s just going through the motions,” said Weber who recently won ESPN’s Best Bowler ESPY. “The goal was to finish in the top eight to get the two byes for match play and from there it’s up to me to finish the job.

“I’ll have plenty of time to relax before match play so I’ll have time to be as prepared as I can be.”

The field has been cut to 32 players for match play but Weber and the seven other finishers in the top eight receive two match play round byes.

Weber, a 37-time winner on the PBA Tour, held a 59-pin lead over Hall of Famer and PBA Tour telecast color commentator Randy Pedersen who finished the round in second with 3,923.

Rounding out the top eight were Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 3,826; Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 3,794; Mike Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 3,784; Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 3,772; Kent Wagner, Palmetto, Fla., 3,756, and Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 3,748.

Weber won two titles in his first season on the PBA50 Tour including the USBC Senior Masters. This season he has five top-eight finishes including second-place finishes in the Suncoast Senior U.S. Open and PBA50 Miller High Life Classic, and a fourth-place finish in the USBC Senior Masters.

Wednesday’s match play gets underway at 10 a.m. ET with the championship rounds scheduled for 7 p.m.

The final day of the Fort Wayne Classic can be seen on PBA’s online bowling channel Xtra Frame. For subscription and schedule information click on the Xtra Frame logo on the pba.com homepage.