By Ernie Gonzalez
The month of March was supposed to be for basketball, but don’t tell that to senior right hander Katelyn Linford.
Linford has gone lights out during the month, posting an 8-1 record, a save, an ERA under 2 and even a no-hitter.
As a result, she has been awarded Mountain West pitcher of the week in back-to-back weeks for the first time in her career.
However, everyone knows that the best ability is availability, and putting your ace in the circle night-in and night-out means pressure not only on the opponent, but on ‘Linny.’
The real question is how long can she keep it up?
First off, you have to question how much depth the Spartans (19-10, 2-1 MW) have behind Linford. Some would call Colette Riggs dependable, but after Riggs, no-names follow.
With the number of games Linford has remaining as a Spartan, the eyes and ears will turn to the recruiting staff to ensure SJSU will remain relevant post Linford.
Although the senior has said she is working on making the adjustments needed to propel the Spartans to the next level, changes take time. And there isn’t a lot of it left for Linford.
Training herself to pitch not only every day, but deep into games can take its toll, as put on display during the series-finale against Nevada Sunday afternoon.
Less than 24 hours after pitching the first Spartan no-no in 12 years, she stood on the rubber again, this time shaken up.
Linford was in trouble early, giving up a three-run bomb in the first inning to Nevada’s right fielder Ericka Hansen. The Wolf Pack only had one hit against Linford in the series before Sunday’s matchup, but it was only a matter of time before they woke up.
Was this a sign of more to come for SJSU’s ace, or was it just an off game? Regardless, whether or not rest is the answer for Linford, she certainly has proven her durability.
Number one has been on the rubber 56 percent of the season for the Spartans, by far the most SJSU has seen since Amanda Pridmore, whose name is inked across SJSU’s record book, threw 261.2 innings in 2013.
Linford has been nothing short of spectacular, but it has to draw some concern considering she has not dealt with this workload before. She has thrown more complete games already this year (nine) than in the previous two years combined (eight).
The team as a whole has won 19 games this season and Linford has been credited with 13 of them. She is currently tied for first in the Mountain West in wins, has a distant lead in strikeouts (115) ahead of Nevada’s MacKenna Isenberg (94) and is third in the conference in ERA (1.97).
It is not uncommon for most teams to have only one reliable starter. In fact, on many teams, including SJSU, they rely overwhelmingly on just one arm.
Prior to Pridmore’s tenure, Carol Forbes was the go-to Spartan, as she is most widely known for her perfect game in 2005 against Louisiana Tech.
While she probably won’t end up in the same sentence as Pridmore or Forbes because of the consistency in their respective careers, Linford still has a chance to make several more marks in SJSU’s history books.
If, and that’s a big if, she can continue the way she’s been hurling this season, she has a chance to be teasing the history Pridmore left behind.
Currently, Linford has 3 saves, 115Ks, and 13 wins. Pridmore in her best season had 29 wins, 7 saves, and 254 strikeouts (All SJSU single season records).
This being her final season in a Spartan uniform, SJSU will have to put together a plan to avoid another four-year drought without an alpha in the circle.
Any sports fan knows greatness only lasts so long, but if Linford hasn’t reached her peak, it will be interesting to witness what that marker entails.
Linford’s next appearance is likely to be Thursday as the Spartans will play their second-to-last out-of-conference game versus the Princeton Tigers in Santa Clara.
First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.