The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Mayfield offense silenced by Purdue recruit
Julia Gossett didn’t need to be absolutely perfect in a May 16 district softball game at Mentor, but the decorated junior pitcher from Massillon Jackson was darn-near perfect anyway.
The Purdue commit was one batter away from a perfect game, leading Jackson to an 8-1 win over Mayfield when she struck out 20 and allowed one only hit — a second-inning home run to Mayfield sophomore Angeleah Saltenis. She walked none and allowed only two batted balls into play.
Gossett struck out the side in the first six innings, aside from Saltenis’ bomb in the second. Emily Graves tried to bunt her way on in the top of the seventh, but was thrown out at first.
Gossett then struck out the final two batters she faced to send Jackson to the championship game on May 18 against league rival North Canton Hoover.
Hoover defeated Chardon, 11-4, in the first of the Division I district semifinals on May 16.
“She had good movement and we didn’t lay off enough pitches,” Mayfield coach Megan Kuhlman said. “We didn’t put the bat on the ball, and that’s what we needed to do if we wanted to stay in the game.”
Gossett’s previous best was 17 strikeouts earlier in the season. Not even Mother Nature could stop her, as a 30-minute lightning delay in the fourth inning didn’t stop her from striking out Wildcats when play resumed.
“The rain delay was hard,” she said. “It was hard to get back into focus. But my team was up in the dugout and kept me fired up.
But no one said anything about (the strikeout string). Kudos to them.”
While Mayfield’s offense struggled, Jackson’s didn’t. Ashley Hauritz had an RBI single in the first for the early lead. But Saltenis’ homer evened it the next inning.
Coming out of the lightning delay, Jackson lit it up. Five straight batters had two-out hits, with Gossett and Megan Magee recording RBI doubles during that stretch.
Jackson put on single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but the Polar Bears were already safely ahead at that point — especially with the way Gossett was pitching.
While Jackson (17-5) moves on to the district final to play a Hoover team that has beaten them twice in league play this season, Mayfield looks to end its season on a high note with league games this week against South and Kenston.
“This was a great experience for our girls,” Kuhlman said. “It was a fun ride. We have six seniors, a lot of them missed out on a year because of COVID. To be out here playing and having a winning season and to see a district tournament like this is great.”
“We didn’t put the bat on the ball, and that’s what we needed to do if we wanted to stay in the game.”
— Mayfield coach Megan Kuhlman