Purdue Sports Update: March 18

Softball Sweeps Ohio State, Extending Win Streak to 14

The Boilers continued their historic run, sweeping the Buckeyes in game three on Sunday morning at Bittinger Stadium. 

The Boilers took down Ohio State 12-6, moving to a 14-game win streak, and took the sweep over the Buckeyes after clinching the series in game two. 

Purdue jumped out to a hot start in the bottom of the first, plating three runs in an unusual manner. 

Khloe Banks led off the game with an infield single, before Moriah Polar joined her after reaching on an error. Freshman, Anna Moore, then hit one over the fence, originally called a home run, but was brought back after she passed the preceding runner on the bases. The official ruling was a single with two of the original three runs scoring. 

The Boilers took a 2-0 lead, and added one more in the inning after a walk from Haley Painter who then scored on a double from Julia Gossett.

In the second, Ohio State added one run back on a dropped ballfrom the Boiler first baseman, which allowed a Buckeye to come around and score. The Buckeyes continued to score in a similar manner in the third, plating two more runs on the back of two more Purdue errors.

Through two and a half, the Buckeyes scored three runs on no hits. In the bottom of the third, the Boilers broke the game open, plating four runs on four hits and one Buckeye error. 

Bella Douglas led off the inning being hit by the pitch, before Delaney Reefe added another runner aboard as the Buckeye pitcher was called on an illegal pitch. With one away. Kylie Franks hit her first double of the season, scoring the first run of the inning. Ashlynn Campbell followed it up with an RBI single and was moved over on a fielder’s choice by Banks. 

Polar earned her second hit of the day, an RBI single to bring the Boilers ahead 6-3, before Moore plated another run on a single of her own. The Boilers closed out the inning with a four-run lead.

The Buckeyes decreased the deficit in the top of the fourth, earning their first hit of the game, a triple to the left field wall. The run eventually scored on the fourth error of the day for the Boilers, another dropped ball at first. 

The Boilers exploded offensively again in the fifth, plating five more runs to bring them out to an eight-run lead. Polar added her third hit of the day with a bases-clearing double. Moore, having already hit one ball out of the park, hit her first official home run of the day, a two-run shot over the left field wall.

Although the Buckeyes earned two back in the fifth and sixth, the deficit was too much to overcome, and the Boilers earned their first series win over Ohio State since 2021.

Purdue extended itswin-streak to a record-breaking 13, defeating Ohio State 6-5 and securing the Big Ten series victory.

Previously, the longest season win-streak was 12 games from Mar. 15 to Mar. 28 in 2003. After today, the Boilers are only building, and have now surpassed the previous record, not losing a game since Feb. 27. 

The Buckeyes began with back-to-back walks to put two runners aboard in the first, but Gossett worked two fly outs and a strikeout to avoid the jam, keeping it scoreless. 

In the bottom of the inning, Polar singled through the left side, cementing herself further as the nation’s hits leader, before Anna Moore worked a walk. Bella Douglas also walked in the inning to load the bases, but the Buckeyes worked two flyouts to also avoid the jam.

In the second, after a leadoff single from Ohio State, Gossett struck out the side, two swinging, one looking. The Boilers did not make any noise in the bottom half of the frame, going down in order.

Purdue came alive in the third, plating three runs on two hits and one Buckeye error. Banks led off the inning with a walk and moved over on a groundout from Polar. Moore drove in the first run of the game on an RBI single to right field. 

On the next play, Haley Painter smoked a double up the middle, and made it to third on an error in the outfield, which also scored Moore. Douglas earned her second walk of the day and stole second, followed by another walk by Gossett which loaded the bases. Delaney Reefe earned her first RBI of the afternoon on a sacrifice fly to bring the tally up to three.

Ohio State threatened in the fourth, beginning with a leadoff walk. The Buckeyes loaded the bases with two outs on back-to-back walks, but Gossett worked a fielder’s choice to end the inning unscathed.

Purdue added to its lead in the fourth. A single, a walk, and a hit by pitch loaded the bases for Painter who brought in one on a sacrifice fly to straight-away center. 

The Buckeyes made it a game in the top of the fifth, plating three runs on back-to-back homers. After the first, a two run home run, Brianna Fontenot came to the mound in relief for Gossett. Fontenot’s first pitch to the Ohio State lineup was a home run. The freshman dug in deep on the mound, not allowing another run to score and giving her team a chance to score in the bottom of the inning.

Two singles, a walk, and another errant throw from the Buckeyes was enough to add a fifth run to the board for Purdue in the bottom of the fifth which proved crucial as the Buckeyes did not yield in the sixth, tying up the score in the top of the sixth on a two-run homer. 

Yet, the Boilers did not yield either. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Purdue began the inning with a double from Painter, followed by the third walk of the day for Douglas. Both runners moved over on a long flyout from Gossett, before Painter scored on an error by the Buckeyes. 

Brooke Perez came to the mound in the sixth for the Boilers earning a huge strikeout which ended the threat. The senior continued to work in the seventh, earning the win on the mound, her first as a Big Ten pitcher.

The Boilers defeated Ohio State 12-6 in a slugfest at Bittinger Stadium on Friday night, moving to 1-0 in Big Ten Conference play and 20-6 on the season.

Purdue had 12 hits while scoring 12 runs to take down the Buckeyes in game one of the three-game series. The last time Purdue defeated Ohio State was during the Big Ten Tournament in 2025, upsetting the No. 21 ranked team in the country at the time.

The Buckeye bats began hot, starting the game with a home run over the left field wall before Gossett worked her way back, striking out one and forcing a double play.

In the bottom of the inning, Moriah Polar, the new national hits leader, continued her streak, beating out an infield single. Anna Moore, the reigning freshman of the week, followed with a walk. An error from Ohio State loaded the bases for Bella Douglas who was hit by a pitch to force in the tying run. 

Delaney Reefe took the lead for the Boilers on a two-RBI double, but Douglas was thrown out on the relay at the plate to end the first.

The Hawkeyes tied it back up in the top of the third on the back of two solo homers, forcing the pitching change from the Boilers, bringing in freshman Bri Fontenot.

In the bottom of the inning, the Boilers retook the lead, plating two runs on a single up the middle from Haley Painter. Painter’s single scored Polar and Moore, who got aboard earlier in the inning on back-to-back singles, including Polar’s 50th hit of the season.

Relief pitcher, Fontenot, stood tall in the top of the fourth, striking out her second batter of the game, and keeping the Buckeyes off of the basepaths. 

Ashlynn Campbell started Purdue in the bottom of the fourth with a single through the right side, followed by another from Khloe Banks. With two on base, Polar came to the plate, earning her third hit of the day, a two-RBI double to center which brought Purdue out to a 7-3 lead. 

The Boilers added one more to the inning, on an infield single Moore beat out and an errant throw from the Buckeyes, which brought Polar around.

Other than a solo homer from the Buckeyes in the top of the fifth, the inning was quiet, with the Boilers going down in order. 

The Purdue bats exploded in the bottom of the sixth, plating four runs on three hits and one Ohio State error. Banks led off the inning with a double up the middle before scoring on another RBI single from Moore. An RBI fielder’s choice from Bella Douglas plated the second run of the inning before Moore came around to score on another errant throw from Ohio State.

Julia Gossett picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly to center, and Reefe came through again, sending another RBI single up the middle to score the fourth run of the inning.

The Buckeyes fought back in the top of the seventh, plating one run, but Fontenot shut down the threat, earning her first-career conference victory and moving to 7-3 on the season. 

Baseball Earns Series Win at Maryland

The lead changed hands four times across the sixth through eighth innings as Maryland rallied to take a back and forth series finale, defeating Purdue Baseball 10-9 Sunday.

The Boilermakers (12-6, 3-3 Big Ten) led 5-0 entering the bottom of the fifth but were unable to hold on to the lead and complete the three-game series sweep.

Purdue hit four home runs Sunday and 10 long balls in the series. Ali Banks and Brandon Rogers went deep to left field to open the seventh and eighth innings. Banks hit a game-tying blast and Rogers’ homer gave the Boilers a 9-8 lead.

The Terrapins (11-8, 1-2 Big Ten) strung together four singles and an RBI fielder’s choice to score twice in the bottom of the eighth and retake the lead. Two of the four hits were of the infield variety, including a two-out RBI infield single to third base off the bat of Ty Kaunas, who dove in head first at first base.

Like Banks and Rogers, CJ Richmond and Dylan Drake both hit their second home runs of the series Sunday. Richmond connected for a two-out, two-run shot in the first inning and Drake hit a solo shot the following frame. Banks and Drake hit safely in all three games of the series.

Purdue’s 10 home runs in the series were its most in a weekend since hitting 11 during the 2023 season-opening series vs. Holy Cross in Sugar Land, Texas.

Westin Boyle and CJ Richmond connected for a two-run double and two-run homer consecutively after Maryland allowed an infield pop up to drop, delivering the big hits in a seven-run second inning as Purdue Baseball defeated Maryland 8-6 Saturday.

The Boilermakers (12-5, 3-2 Big Ten) clinched a series victory, their first on the road in Big Ten play since take two of three at Minnesota to open the league schedule last season.

Purdue improved to 6-0 on Saturdays this season and remained unbeaten when Zach Erdman starts on the mound. Erdman struck out six over 4 1/3 innings of four-run ball Saturday. The lefty has racked up at least five punchouts in each of his five starts.

Jake Kramer retired all five batters he faced, striking out the first and final, as part of a five-out save. With one out in the bottom of the eighth, Kramer entered the game with a runner at second and Maryland (10-8, 0-2 Big Ten) home run leader Ryan Costello at the plate. Purdue had retired Costello just twice over his first eight plate appearances in the series. Kramer struck him out looking on four pitches.

The Boilermakers sent 10 men to the plate in the top of the second while scoring at least four runs in a frame for the sixth time this week. They have posted big innings featuring eight, seven, six, five and four (twice) runs.

Ross Highfill and Dylan Drake ignited the rally from the bottom of the lineup. Highfill aggressively went first to third on Drake’s one-out single to center field, sliding in safely at third on a bang-bang play. Drake moved up to second on the back side of the action. Ali Banks followed with a sacrifice fly and Aaron Manias’ RBI single made it 3-1 Purdue.

After a walk to Brandon Rogers, Sam Flores swung at the first pitch and hit a high pop up above the mound. The UMD infield converged on it, but pitcher Evan Smith did not take charge; the ball hit off the glove of the third baseman and dropped to the turf. Manias scored on the play. Purdue took advantage of the extra out in a big way as Boyle connected for a gapper to the wall in left center and Richmond homered to the left of the batter’s eye in center field.

Dylan Drake connected for a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning, the most significant of Purdue Baseball’s five homers as the Boilermakers reeled off 14 unanswered runs to defeat Maryland 16-5 Friday.

Purdue (11-5, 2-2 Big Ten) overcame a 4-2 deficit entering the fifth inning, blowing the game open with a snowman (8-spot) on the scoreboard in the top of the ninth.

Brandon Rogers, Ross Highfill, Ali Banks and Sam Flores joined Drake as Boilermakers to go deep. Highfill led off the top of the seventh with a game-tying blast to center field. Banks, Drake and Highfill all hit their first homers for Purdue. Flores went deep for the third game in a row and for the fourth time in the last five games.

The Boilermakers blasted a Maryland (10-7, 0-1 Big Ten) team that was 5-0 at home entering the night, scoring a combined 77 runs in those five games. Purdue starter Cole Van Assen retired the final seven batters he faced during his third trip through the UMD lineup, working a season-high six innings of four-run ball on a night in which the wind was blowing out to left field. Thomas Howard impressed again as the first Boilermaker out of the bullpen, retiring six of the seven batters he faced. He likely would have had an opportunity to close out the win, but Purdue opted not to send him back to the mound after batting for more than 30 minutes as part of its eight-run ninth inning.

#19 Purdue Prepped for NCAA Wrestling Championships

No. 19 Purdue Wrestling will close its season with four Boilermakers set to compete at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland on March 19-21.

Purdue’s four national qualifiers all earned podium finishes at the Big Ten Conference Championships to clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament.

The first of six sessions will begin at noon ET on Thursday inside Rocket Arena. All sessions will be available to watch on the ESPN family of channels as designated below.

The four Boilermakers will vie for Purdue’s first individual national championship since Charles Jones won the fourth in school history on the heels of a 33-0 season in 1992.

PURDUE WRESTLING NCAA CHAMPIONS

BLAZE OF GLORY

After a 22-1 junior season, Blaze holds a career-high No. 2 seed at nationals. He is one of just four Boilermakers since 1963 to earn a top-two seed in the NCAA tournament, joining Jones (No. 2 in 1992), Chris Fleeger (No. 1 in 2003) and Matt Ramos (No. 2 in 2025).

As mentioned, Jones won the national title that year. Fleeger finished as the NCAA runner-up and Ramos placed fourth to become a two-time All-American.

Purdue’s highest seed, Blaze took another giant leap forward this season competing at 165 for the first time after wrestling at 157 his first two years. Last season, Blaze was one of the biggest breakout stars in the nation, blitzing to the NCAA Finals as the No. 8 seed to become Purdue’s youngest national finalist since at least 1950.

A native of Perrysburg, Ohio, Blaze will aim for the top of the podium this time around competing in his home state. He posted just the fourth undefeated regular season by a Boilermaker in the past 50 years and has given up only one takedown in 23 matches.

Blaze won bronze at the Big Ten Championships for the second straight season, becoming the first Boiler with consecutive top-three conference finishes since Devin Schroder (2020-21) and the first to do so in different weight classes since Dave Walter (1989-90).

TAKEDOWNS, TAKEDOWNS, TAKEDOWNS

Competing in his third full season of varsity action, redshirt junior Brody Baumann (No. 22 at 174) has been one of the most prolific offensive wrestlers on the team. He leads Purdue with 63 takedowns after tallying the second-most trailing only Ramos last season (68).

Behind Blaze, Baumann has been the second-highest scoring Boilermaker with 235 match points this season.

Hailing from Evansville, Ind., Baumann is one of just three NCAA qualifiers from the state of Indiana who also qualified each of the past two years, joining Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) and Evan Bates (Missouri).

Baumann scores his match points in bunches early on; he leads the team with 117 first-period points and paces Purdue with three 2-point nearfalls.

The Evansville grappler holds a career-high No. 22 seed this season after being No. 26 in 2025 and No. 32 in 2024.

BLAKE “SCORE”-MAN

Head coach Tony Ersland is not known to dip into the transfer portal often, but Blake Boarman (No. 24, 133) from Chattanooga and fellow starter Gavin Brown (149) of Ohio State were exceptions this season. Ersland’s investment in Boarman has paid dividends at the low end of the lineup, as the four-year Chattanooga wrestler was one of just four Boilers to start all 16 duals.

Boarman qualified for nationals last year as a No. 20 seed and took a big step up in competition in the Big Ten this season. Also from Evansville and a former high school teammate of Baumann, Boarman showed what he was truly capable of when he took No. 1 Lucas Byrd down to the wire in a 5-4 dual decision, scoring the only takedown but losing on stall calls.

But Boarman faced Byrd again in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament and got the better of him, scoring two takedowns for a 7-3 decision to pull off a shocking upset as the No. 10 seed to clinch his spot in Cleveland.

Boarman will look to show more consistency in his final tournament, but at his peak he has proven a tough out for anyone of any skill level.

THE MUSTACHED MENACE

Competing in his fourth and final Big Ten tournament, longtime Boilermaker stalwart Ben Vanadia (No. 26 at 197) finally got it done with an eighth-place finish, becoming a first-time Big Ten placewinner and first-time NCAA qualifier in his final season.

Vanadia was arguably a snub last season for the national tournament after turning in a 19-12 record with 10 dual wins. But he will now make his last ride in his home state of Ohio less than 10 minutes from his childhood home.

With a season record of 15-10, Vanadia has missed some time but wrestled sharp when competing at full strength. He opened the season on a 13-4 run before opening a grueling Big Ten slate where he faced nothing but ranked opponents. In fact, Vanadia hasn’t wrestled an unranked foe since the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite on Dec. 6.

Vanadia’s biggest win of the season came in a dominant 18-5 major decision over No. 15 Branson John. He wrestled his final dual match on Feb. 1 before returning at the Big Ten tournament over a month later, where he won the only match he competed in (7-2 decision over No. 23 Kael Wisler) and forfeited the rest, knowing his spot at nationals was secure.

Women’s Tennis Splits

The No. 26 Wisconsin Badgers snapped the Purdue Boilermakers four-match winning streak as Purdue was shut out, 0-4.

With the result, Purdue suffered its first loss in over a month, including the first in Big Ten play, moving to a 6-5 (1-1 Big Ten) record while Wisconsin improved to 9-3 (2-1 Big Ten) record.

The Boilermakers faced two of its highest-ranked singles foes, with Gencer taking on No. 17 Maria Sholokhova, suffering just the second loss of the season as she fell 3-6, 1-6. Meanwhile, Fatima Gutierrez, playing at the No. 2 position, took on No. 56-ranked Ekaterina Ivanova, leading in the first set before ultimately falling 5-7, with  the match going unfinished in Set 2.

Next weekend, Purdue will travel next door to Illinois and Northwestern. On Saturday, the Boilers will take on the Fighting Illini at 1 p.m. ET, followed by a Sunday afternoon showdown against the Wildcats at 3 p.m. ET.

Securing their fourth straight win, the women’s tennis team (6-4, 2-0 Big Ten) posted a 4-2 victory over No. 64 Minnesota (9-7, 0-3 Big Ten), marking the team’s first ranked win of the season. In the victory, Ece Gencer knocked off the No. 117 nationally-ranked singles player for her second ranked win of the year.

Gencer had strong performances across the board, picking up a dominant 6-3, 6-3 ranked win against No. 117 Jeselle Ante as the first court to finish. With the win, Gencer improved to a 9-1 record this spring. The showing was paired with another victory with partner Ida Clement in doubles (6-2), for the duo to remain undefeated at 4-0 this season.

Meanwhile, freshman Emmi Kolyszko picked up her third straight win, downing Nora Knezevic, 6-2, 7-6(3). Tied 40-40 while leading 5-4, Kolyszko lost the set point as the Gopher battled back to tie the match, however she denied each attempt by Knezevic to take the match, ultimately winning 7-6(3) in Set 2.

The match was clinched by sophomore Kathryn Wilson, who posted her fourth win in the last five matches as she defeated Anlin Xie with a pair of 6-4 scores.

Purdue dominated doubles, taking the first two courts with scores of 6-2, while leaving the third abandoned while ahead 5-2. They carried the momentum in to singles play, producing the Set 1 win on four of the six courts.

Fathalla, Lee Pick Up Wins at #45 Oregon

The men’s tennis team (4-9, 0-4 Big Ten) fell to No. 45 Oregon on the road.

The hard-fought effort saw the doubles point go the distance, coming down to Court 1 as the Boilermakers had the match tied 5-5 and 6-6 before ultimately falling in the tiebreak.

Meanwhile, Freshman Jacob Lee and sophomore Nour Fathalla picked up singles wins in the dual. Lee, playing at the No. 5 position, secured his fourth win in the last five matches, including a 3-1 record in league play, to improve to a 6-2 overall record this spring. Fathalla came back after dropping the first set to command the match, winning 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to improve to a 6-6 (2-2 Big Ten) spring record.

Next week, Purdue will return home for a pair of matches. First, Purdue will face Penn State on Friday at 4 p.m. ET, followed by Ohio State on Sunday at Noon.

Vessat Earns First Team All-American, Breaks Own Records on Saturday

Samuel Vessat wrapped up Purdue Track & Field’s 2026 indoor season by breaking his own French short track and Purdue 400m records on his way to earning First Team All-American.  

Vessat Notes
• Vessat ran 45.30 to break his own French short track and school records in the 400m. He set the previous record of 45.38 in the Big Ten Indoor Championships prelims.
• With his performance, Vessat moved up to top 15 in the world in 2026.
• The Paris, France native became the first Boilermaker men’s athlete to run in the NCAA Indoor Championships final in the 400m. He joined Brian Faust (2020-21) as the only indoor All-Americans in the event.
• Vessat now owns the top four 400m times in Purdue history, indoors or outdoors, running 45.30, 45.38, 45.59 and 45.68 this season.
• Competing as a redshirt sophomore, Vessat completed his first collegiate indoor season after playing Division II basketball at Edward Waters for two seasons.

Next Up
Purdue begins the outdoor campaign at the USF Alumni Invitational (March 20-21) in Tampa, Florida.