I, too, have had some success with a 2" pin ball. I ALWAYS have one around.
Does it mimic urethane? No. But it's a viable option when you want control with better carry than urethane.
If you compare the coverstocks only you'll see the difference. Urethane takes forever to absorb lane conditioner, and even with the best shammy on the market, you're leaving oil on the cover to some degree. This is why people's first game with urethane is almost always their highest score. As the cover collects oil it reads the friction less effectively, and get ready to shoot corner pins.
It would help if you could use a good cleaner between games, but USBC, in their infinite wisdom (and after years of declaring "legal" and "illegal" cleaners for use during play) says that's a no no.
With reactive resin the cover can "refresh" itself more quickly by absorbing some of the oil, and combined with shammy use, the ball has clean surface that can "react" or respond to the friction more effectively and drive through the pin deck with less deflection, etc.
If you're Jesper Svensson and throw it 21mph with 600+ revs you can make urethane work, much to the dismay of everyone else on your pair, due to carry-down. But the average bowler with "human" skills will struggle with carry as the lanes transition and as your urethane collects oil on the cover.
Is there a place for urethane? Yes, but I believe it's more limited than we want to believe. On the typical house patterns with defined dryer area (outside) and clean backends a stable reaction (2"pin) reactive ball will increase your carry percentage and still allow enough control.
