MERRILLVILLE, Ind. – Of all the bowlers in the 2008 Denny’s Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour Trials who could make a case for being the most deserving of an exemption, none can match the case of Dave D’Entremont.

Just two months after an unfortunate accident in the last event of the 2007-08 PBA Tour season cost him a chance at an exemption, D’Entremont is nine games away from redeeming himself. He used a 222.44 average over his nine games Saturday to move into third in the 2008 Lake County Indiana Denny’s PBA Tour Trials at Stardust Bowl II.

The five-day competition features nearly 100 bowlers rolling nine games each day on a different PBA oil pattern. The top seven after Sunday’s final nine-game block earn exemptions for the 2008-09 Denny’s PBA Tour.

Chad Kloss led the field Saturday with a 222.67 average over his nine games and sits atop the standings with an 8,124 36-game pinfall.

A six-time Denny’s PBA Tour titlist, D’Entremont was 43rd in the PBA World Point Rankings heading into the season-ending 65th Denny’s U.S. Open in late March, the same event he finished fourth in the previous season. During the practice day leading up to competition, however, he tripped over a ball bag and severely gashed his leg on a bevel knife which was sticking out of the bag. The injury forced him out of the competition and back to the Tour Trials.

“Considering the way things went down at the U.S. Open, I feel that if that didn’t happen I wouldn’t be here today so it would be very sweet to get my exemption back this week,” D’Entremont said. “I’ll definitely get a little more sleep tonight after bowling well today. This is a grueling week of bowling on top of the Regional Player Championship. By the end of the week I will have bowled about 80 games. I haven’t bowled that many games in a long time.”

D’Entremont (Middleburg Heights, Ohio) was just 58th after the first day this week and 26th after the second day, but he posted the best score of all the competitors on Friday to move up to fifth and his 2,002 nine-game pinfall was second on Saturday behind Kloss, putting him in third heading into the final day with 8,027.

Craig Tuholski (Washougal, Wash.), who led after Thursday and Friday’s rounds, sits second with 8,032 while Troy Wollenbecker (Miami) is fourth with 7,912.

Jason Lundquist (Delaware Water Gap, Pa.) averaged 215.00 on Saturday – the fifth-best score of the day – to move into fifth, Ronnie Russell (Indianapolis) is sixth while Tom Sorce went from 10th on Friday to seventh heading into the final day.