Franklin native and Roncalli graduate Amber Linton has found a home with the New Mexico softball team after transferring from Indiana University.
Submitted photo
Amber Linton didn’t intend to choose the scenic route while navigating her college softball career.
And yet here the 2020 Roncalli graduate is, a relatively new resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico, by way of Bloomington.
Last spring, Linton, a 6-foot right-handed pitcher, entered the transfer portal shortly after the conclusion of a freshman season at Indiana, where she appeared in 19 games and posted a 5-2 record.
Approximately 20 college softball teams showed interest in Linton, with New Mexico, Rutgers, Miami of Ohio and Appalachian State eventually emerging as front-runners.
Linton, whose family lives in Franklin, wasn’t looking to accrue miles.
Just smiles.
“My freshman year at IU, I had a bunch of struggles mentally. Honestly, my mental health just wasn’t that good,” Linton said. “I’ve always loved the West, and when New Mexico reached out and I visited, I just fell in love with it.
“Albuquerque is 20 minutes outside of the (Sandia) Mountains, and I liked how different it is from Indiana. My family was super supportive, and really happy and excited for me.”
Prior to her sophomore year of high school, Linton verbally committed to play softball at Tennessee. Linton had a change of heart in the fall of 2019 when the Volunteers’ coaches informed her that her scholarship had been given to a transfer.
She was given the opportunity to wear orange and white as a walk-on, but declined.
Linton didn’t play her senior softball season at Roncalli after all spring sports were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, she was an All-Marion County selection three times and still ranks high on many of the school’s single-season and career lists.
As part of the Lobos’ pitching staff this spring, Linton finished 12-14 with three saves and a 4.02 earned-run average. She had 156 strikeouts and 73 walks in 156 2/3 innings. New Mexico concluded the season with a 26-27 mark, going 6-8 in the Mountain West Conference.
Linton’s average of 6.97 strikeouts per game is a new school record. Her strikeout total is the Lobos’ sixth-most in a single season.
“I started off strong, but I definitely hit a rocky point in the middle of the season, and I had it figured out at the end,” Linton said. “I was very happy with my season overall.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get the contract of coach Paula Congleton renewed after five seasons. New Mexico is in the process of trying to find the person who will be the sixth coach for a program founded in 1978.
Linton, however, is staying. A business major, she carries a 4.2 grade-point average.
“(Congleton), really, was one of the main reasons I came to New Mexico,” Linton said. “But now that I’ve played there, I’ve created a bond with my teammates, the school and the area. It’s a very close-knit community.”
The one drawback of playing softball games in an entirely different time zone is Linton rarely gets an opportunity to see her parents, Eric and Shelly, or any of her three siblings in the stands.
However, in March, the Lobos played a three-game series at San Jose State. Linton’s brother Max is in the Air Force and lives in San Jose, so their parents were present to watch Amber start the first and third games.
“It was awesome,” Linton said. “I’m really happy they got to come watch the team play.”
