Northwestern Baseball (5-2, 0-0 B1G) showcased its strength and potential this weekend with a thrilling four-game sweep of Cornell and Boston College at the Hub City Invitational.
Each win showcased a different aspect of Ben Greenspan’s team — offensive depth, baserunner performance, home plate discipline and clutch pitching. But the biggest takeaway from this weekend was the resilience and tenacity the Wildcats showed in a situation where their backs were against the wall and there was little room for error.
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Let’s take a look back at a successful weekend in Spartanburg.
Northwestern 13, Cornell 5 (Friday, February 20)
NU capped off a disappointing opening weekend with a 17-6 win over Rice, and the offensive momentum clearly carried over into Friday as the bats were firing on all cylinders. The Wildcats scored 13 points on 14 hits, marking the first time since April 2022 that NU has scored 13 or more points in back-to-back games. The score reached 30 points in two games, which was the most points scored by Northwestern University in the same period since 2005.
The offense started quickly on Friday, with Owen McElfatrick’s RBI single in the first inning. While Cornell responded with an RBI single in the bottom half of the first inning, Cornell’s offense proved to be more explosive in the second. After Jay Slater’s single, Carter Danz recorded his first career single, a double that moved runners to second and third. Sacrifice runs by Jack Counsell and Jack Lausch set up Slater and Danz and gave NU a 3-1 lead.
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The Cats’ offense kept going over the next three innings. Nick Barron hit his first career homer, and NU got RBIs from Lausch and Ryan Kucherak and a two-run triple from Slater. After five games, Peking University led 10-2.
While Cornell cut into the lead with three runs in the sixth, Northwestern put those runs back in the eighth on McElfatrick’s sacrifice fly. Logan de Groot was part of the offensive avalanche, scoring the Wildcats’ first RBI on a bases-loaded walk. It was Northwestern’s last of 13 games and eight different Wildcats had RBIs.
On the mound, Sam Hliboki earned his first win of the year. In the 5.0 innings he pitched, he allowed four runs on six hits but also struck out six — his highest mark as a Wildcat. Tommy Bridges took Hliboki’s place and was relieved. It was the sophomore’s first appearance as a Wildcat and it was a forgettable outing as Bridges pitched 3.0 innings, striking out four, scoring no runs and earning the save.
Northwestern 6, Cornell 5 (Saturday, February 21)
Northwestern’s subsequent matchup against Cornell looked a little different in the first leg of a doubleheader, but yielded the same result. Unlike Friday’s offensive failure, this game looked like it was going to be a Big Red victory until the ninth inning, when NU came back from three down to tie the game. A thrilling overtime game ensued, with Roush’s two-run hit giving the Wildcats the victory.
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As in Game 1, NU scored in the first inning on McElfatrick’s RBI triple. The offense went quiet after that, as Garrett Shearer held Cornell’s batters to the ropes and allowed just one hit in 3.0 scoreless innings. He continued to perform well in his second game back from injury, with a perfect performance that kept the score at 1-0.
With Shearer off the mound, the Big Red took advantage, scoring three runs in the fifth and another in the seventh. The Cats offense continued to struggle, with Cornell leading 4-1 entering the ninth.
Just then, lightning struck. Jackson Freeman singled to load McElfatrick, and after Barron loaded the bases, Noah Ruiz drove in two runs and Griffin Mills followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 4-4, forcing overtime.
Cornell went on a power play in the 10th, but the bases were still loaded after Christian Forniss got out of trouble. His 3.0 scoreless innings went a long way in keeping NU in this game.
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Cornell took the lead in the 11th inning on a pass from Dominic DeLoreto, who was making his collegiate debut. But Northwest’s mission isn’t over yet. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Roush loaded the bases with two outs and his team trailing by one run. Sacrifice a fly for a draw, hit for a win. The latter happened — Roush pitched a two-run single into center field, scoring Ruiz and Mills and sending the Wildcats’ bench into a frenzy.
While Roush was the hero, the win was largely due to outstanding home plate discipline as Northwestern drew a season-high 12 walks. The Wildcats’ offense exploded at the right times, and the pitchers got the job done in high-risk situations.
Northwestern University 5, Boston College 4 (Saturday, February 21)
In the second half of the doubleheader, Northwestern repeated the same playbook as in Game 1 – clawing back late in the game and winning by one point. Only this time, the opponent was Boston College.
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The Eagles struck first, hitting a two-run homer in the top of the first quarter. But the Wildcats, as they had done all weekend, regained those runs late in the second quarter on RBI singles from Mills and Counsell.
Boston College extended its lead in the fourth and sixth innings to take a 4-2 lead. But NU once again found itself in trouble and climbed out, rallying in the bottom of the sixth inning on Barron’s home run and Counsell’s two-run triple. The Wildcats ended the inning with a 5-4 lead, a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
Ryan Weaver made his second start as a Wildcat, pitching 5.2 innings, allowing four runs and five hits while recording four strikeouts. Jake Lifenberg dominated in relief, earning his first career win with 3.1 scoreless innings. Again, the pitching wasn’t perfect, but it worked when it mattered most.
Northwestern University 8, Boston College 5 (Sunday, February 22)
Sometimes, all it takes is one offensive burst to seal the victory. Northwestern scored seven runs in the eighth inning against Boston College on Sunday to secure a sweep of the Hub City Invitational Tournament.
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Both teams capitalized on self-inflicted turnovers to get first downs – BC took the lead on NU’s wild pitching, and NU tied the game on two fielding errors by the Eagles. Boston College regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning with a two-run single to make it 3-1.
While NU’s offense was quiet for much of the afternoon, it exploded over eight innings: five walks, seven runs, three hits and one error. Slater scored on an RBI single and Counsell tied the game on a sacrifice fly. Mills scored on a wild pitch to give NU the lead. The rest were insurance runs – McElfatrick and Barron added bases-loaded walks, and Ruiz extended the lead with a two-run single to make it 8-3.
Although BC scored two more runs in the final frame, the Wildcats’ lead was never in doubt and they secured the four-game sweep with Drew Dickson’s first career save.
Justin Fryer was solid in 2.2 innings on the mound, allowing just one run, two hits and two walks to earn his first career win.
Next
While the ‘Cats shined in Spartanburg, they’ll need to carry that momentum into their upcoming weekend road series against No. 5 Georgia Tech. This will be their toughest task yet, but if this weekend has proven anything, it’s that you can’t write off the Wildcats until the final is recorded.
