The Badgers made their seasonal debut in Division Three with a short trip to play East Preston B. Pre-match optimism soon vanished on a slow green that challenged both sets of bowlers when facing long jacks.
Barry Ledger's rink of Mike Lawton, Alan Fryar and Geoff Pratt were 6-3 up after nine ends before the hosts took the next eight and eventually won 15-8.
David Berry's rink of Terry Edmondson, Simon Ritter and Mike Spinks were only three shots down with two ends to play but lost them both in an 18-12 defeat.
Charlie Ward, Richard Berrett, Alan Cheeseman and skip Bryan Bodicoat were also behind from start to finish in a 19-7 loss. East Preston earned the maximum eight points from a 52-27 aggregate victory.
Twenty-four hours later, the Badgers hosted Goring Manor and won 49-44. Two games were tied after 17 ends, with the visitors taking both on the last to earn four points.
Barry Ledger's rink of Charlie Ward, Peter Tomley and Mike Spinks were Pavilion's winners. Leading 19-3 after 10 ends, they resisted a spirited fightback to win 24-15.
Simon Ritter, Richard Berrett, Geoff Pratt and skip David Berry were level five times in their low-scoring game but dropped two shots on the last to lose 13-11.
Mike Lawton, Alan Crowter, Alan Cheeseman and skip Bryan Bodicoat were a shot up with two to play. The visitors scored two singles and took the spoils 15-14.
Pavilion Bulls hosted newly promoted Pulborough in Division One on Friday and were whitewashed in a match much closer than the outcome suggested.
Graham Morrey, Barry Balchin, Richard Calvert and skip Derek Little were two up after 17 ends but then dropped a three to lose 17-16.
George Rhodes, John Ives, Ken Chapman and skip Simon Warr lost 13-11 after conceding five shots over the last four ends.
Mason Davis, Bill Muir, Tony Beale and skip Warwick Davis were four shots clear with four to play but were beaten 19-17 after losing them all.
Keith Lyons, Peter Woods, Ralf Kuhr were unable to recover from dropping nine shots over the first three ends and eventually lost 21-12.
Pulborough's 70-56 victory lifted them to second place in the league, only four points behind East Preston A, the early-season leaders.
Pavilion's third setback on Friday came at Chichester, where the Bears lost 74-57 while earning four points from two winning rinks.
Two of the club's youngest bowlers, Alex Meadows and Tommy Walker, combined with Mick Steggell and Colin Davey to win 21-7, thanks in part to a rare seven on the penultimate end.
The Bears' other success came from Nour Dissem, Richard Burden, Dave Thomas and Francis Fahey, who raced into a 9-0 lead and eventually won 19-13.
Peter Tomley, Allan Banks, Ian Slater and Jeremy Simpson were only two down after eight ends but then took some heavy blows in a 27-10 defeat.
The story was similar for Andy Peters, George Davey, Ian Godden and Richard Maton, who held Chichester for the first nine ends before conceding a hatful to lose 24-7.
Away from league action, Pavilion welcomed Crablands for a PC Industrial Products Cup match on Sunday and again found themselves on the wrong end of a close encounter.
The visitors won 65-62 on aggregate, taking three of the four rinks to reach the quarter-finals, where they will play either Maltravers or East Preston.
Pavilion's lone success was achieved by Nour Dissem, John Winkley, Graham Morrey and Warwick Davis, who took 13 of the 18 ends for a 24-9 win.
Andy Peters, Geoff Pratt, Jeremy Simpson and Colin Davey conceded each of the last six ends to a single in a 16-11 defeat.
Dave Thomas, Ian Slater, Francis Fahey and Simon Davey were 10 clear after six ends but managed only one more shot as they lost 21-12.
George Rhodes, Bryan Bodicoat, Tony Beale and Richard Krupa lost 19-15 despite scoring a four on the final end.
Pavilion ladies travelled to Littlehampton to play Norfolk in a Sussex Top Club tie that tested the bowlers at singles, pairs, triples and as a four.
Julie Woods, Ann Button and Gill Harrisson recovered from a tricky start in the triples to win 21-13. Pat Edmonds and Sue Gubbins led from pillar to post in the pairs for a 20-15 victory.
Sue Pearson lost the singles 21-12. Helen Beale, Pam Duffield, Kathy Byrnes and Teresa McLaughlin lost the fours 22-11. With the games shared 2-2, the match was decided on shots aggregate, which Norfolk won 71-64. They will play Southwick Park in the next round.
Pavilion have entered two teams in the Gladys Rowland Trophy, a county-wide knockout tournament with 60 teams that culminates in finals day at Burgess Hill on September 7. A Pavilion four of Pat Edmonds, Chris Cheeseman, Sue Manning and Sue Gubbins moved two shots clear with three ends to play against Sue Ford's rink from Rottingdean but then conceded eight to lose 19-13.
Pavilion's other four travel to Shoreham on Saturday for their first-round match.
Pavilion stretched their unbeaten run in the Brodie Tray league to four matches with a hard-fought draw at Lancing on Monday, May 26.
The visitors won two games, drew a third and lost the fourth. Those performances earned them five points, with Lancing taking the other five from one win, one draw and aggregate victory by 66 shots to 60.
Pat Edmonds and skip Simon Warr did well to overcome a determined challenge from Tim Clarke and Phil Hillsden in the pairs. Level after eight ends, Pavilion went ahead with a three on the next. Lancing hit back with a four to regain the lead before a five on the 12th, followed by another three, helped Edmonds and Warr to a 21-16 success.
Malcolm Gardiner, Allan Banks, Pam Duffield and skip Geoff Pratt played a game of three thirds against Les Koroknai's rink. Lancing took the first five ends to go 7-0 up, then Pavilion took all bar one of the next eight. That run included a rare seven, helping to put them 19-8 up with five to play. That cushion proved just comfortable enough, with Lancing taking all five to make the result 19-17 to Pavilion.
Chris Cheeseman, the Brodie Tray captain, Phil Crompton and skip Bryan Bodicoat earned the visitors' fifth point by drawing with Alan Wadey's triple. Lancing took the lead three times and were five clear after 10 ends but Pavilion kept chipping away. A single on the 17th end and another on the last were enough for a sporting 13-13 draw.
Mason Davis, Sue Bryan and skip Warwick Davis came a cropper against Martin Salter's triple. There was no way back from a 15-shot deficit at halfway, with Lancing finally winning 20-7.
Pavilion's next Brodie match is at Shoreham, the league leaders, on June 6.