MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - An unearned run in the fifth inning gave No. 13 Minnesota a 1-0 victory over the Boilermakers Friday evening.
The Golden Gophers scored their run on five hits and an error, while allowing Purdue two hits, one each by juniors Mary Gooding and CJ Parsons. The Boilers stranded six runners in the game, including three in scoring position.
Sara Groenewegen (27-4) struck out 15 batters in the complete-game victory for Minnesota. Junior Lilly Fecho (19-15) issued four Ks in the loss for Purdue.
Gooding got the first hit of the game, sending a one-out single up the middle in the first. Senior Ashley Burkhardt was plunked to bump Gooding to second, but the Boilermakers could not make good on the scoring opportunity.
Freshman Maya Hughes drew a leadoff walk in the second inning and promptly swiped second base, but was left stranded.
Minnesota tallied two hits in the fourth, but stranded two runners. A one-out double was erased as freshman Kaylah Hampton gunned down the runner trying to steal third. Another double and walk accounted for the runners left aboard.
Parsons lifted a one-out single over the head of the third baseman in the fifth, but the Boilers could not bring her in to score.
The Gophers got a base runner in the fifth care of a Boilermaker fielding miscue and capitalized for a run. The runner then stole second and went to third on a passed ball, before scoring on a two-out double by Paige Palkovich.
Gooding drew a leadoff walk in the sixth, but was out on a fielder's choice play that put Burkhardt aboard. Junior Paris Andrew joined Burkhardt with a walk, but a pair of strikeouts kept Purdue from tying it up.
Minnesota wasted a pair of sixth inning singles as the Boilers wrangled two pop ups to end the stanza.
The Boilermakers went down in order in the seventh to close out the game.
Purdue (30-22, 7-12 Big Ten) will face off with the Gophers at 2 p.m. ET Saturday.