Julia Gossett Sets Career High in Strikeouts in Purdue Softball Win Over Minnesota
The Purdue Boilermakers enjoyed making program history on Friday afternoon with a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers in West Lafayette, Ind.
Purdue reached its 900th program win with the victory, and starting pitcher Julia Gossett set a new career-high with 12 strikeouts.
Gossett improved to 5-6 on the year but she is in the middle of a hot streak. Her last appearance against Nebraska on Monday saw her pitch three scoreless innings in relief. She also went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a walk.
Julia Gossett went OFF in the Boilermakers' win over Minnesota 😤
— Big Ten Softball (@B1Gsoftball) April 4, 2025
The @PurdueSoftball pitcher secured a career-high 1️⃣2️⃣ strikeouts 🔥#B1GSoftball pic.twitter.com/vwSybt5luM
The sophomore carried the momentum with her into Friday afternoon, scattering three hits and three walks across seven innings.
Purdue scored in each of the first two innings. Khloe Banks led off the game with a walk and came around to score on a double off the bat of Moriah Polar. The game-winner, in the second inning, came off the bat of Banks, who singled to left field, scoring second baseman Alivia Meeks from second.
She's off to the races! 🏃♀️@moriahpolar with a B1G double in the bottom of the first.#BoilerUp 🚂 pic.twitter.com/riCOrRjHQE
— Purdue Softball (@PurdueSoftball) April 4, 2025
The Boilermakers out-hit the Gophers 6-3, with other contributions from Delaney Reefe, Jordyn Ramos, and Sage Scarmardo. However, it was Banks who had the best day at the plate, going 1-for-1 with a single, an RBI, a run scored, and two walks.
Minnesota's lone run scored in the top of third when Kayla Chavez hit a sacrifice fly with one out and the bases loaded, scoring Breezy Burnett from third.
Sydney Schwartz was handed the loss, allowing two earned runs to score on two walks in six innings. She also struck out four.
The two teams will continue their three-game series Saturday with first pitch set for 11 a.m.
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-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.