By Daniel Reedy:
While pitching doesn’t technically win championships, the Spartan arms are certainly carrying the team toward the Mountain West title.
San Jose State shut down the Utah State Aggies again to win Game 3 of the series 6-1.
Spartan starter Katelyn Linford threw her 16th complete game of the season, holding Utah State to just the one run and five hits. She had six Ks and didn’t walk a single Aggie.
“[Linford] is throwing well,” said SJSU head coach Peter Turner. “[Linford and Collette Riggs] really just carrying the load.”
Linford threw a total of 14 innings this weekend, conceding four runs as her and Riggs (seven innings, zero earned runs) stifled the formerly first place Aggies that have been eliminated from title contention.
“We needed [to] win and we won. I said it earlier in the week that’s what we needed,” said Spartan outfielder Casey Watt. “We came through.”
Watt, a senior, did her part, going 8 for 11 with three RBIs and three runs scored in the three games.
Fellow senior outfielder Chelsea Jenner scored what would be the winning run on Friday and ripped her 10th double of the season today, good for second on the team.
Jenner’s development from part-time player to everyday starter this year has been huge for the Spartans who are now on an eight-game winning streak and have won 12 of their last 14 games.
“We’re killing it right now,” Jenner said with a smile.
First baseman Madison Aurin continues to be a force at the plate, going 6 for 10 and knocking in six runs batting out of the No. 4 spot in all three games of the series with shortstop Georgia Blair still ailing. Aurin entered today third in the conference in hits and leads the team in hits, doubles and RBIs.
Utah State’s April Brown started on the mound for the second consecutive day and was tagged for three runs in two and a half innings. Brown, who ranked fifth in the MW in strikeouts coming into today, did record two Ks after failing to strike out a single Spartan yesterday. The senior entered Game 3 with the fifth-best opposing batting average at .234 but SJSU went 5 for 13 (.384) against her.
Freshman phenom Kellie White (top-6 in MW in ERA, opposing batting average and Ks) relieved Brown and gave up three more runs, taking the loss.
Senior first baseman Paxton Provost picked up the Aggies only RBI of the afternoon on a double to right center, her only hit of the series, and finished 1 for 9 against SJSU.
Utah State managed just 12 hits this weekend — that’s just one hit more than SJSU’s Game 1 and Game 3 totals of 11 each. The Aggies batted .157 as a team. Comparatively, the Spartans went 30 for 78 for a team average of .348.
Provost is one of three Aggies with at least seven home runs toward the team’s conference leading 44 but the Spartan pitchers did not allow a single homer in the three-game set.
With the sweep by SJSU, the Spartans are likely to capture their first conference championship since the 2013 team won the Western Athletic Conference title. Watt is the only member remaining from that team.
SJSU plays its final series of the regular season beginning Thursday at UNLV as the Spartans look stay atop the standings with rival San Diego State clawing from behind.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. from Las Vegas.