'Cats Sweep Hub City Invitational

Sunday, February 22

Fifth Third Park | Spartanburg, S.C.

1 p.m. CT

Northwestern

5-2

Boston College

4-3

Northwestern

Boston College

2/22/2026 6:35:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Northwestern's seven-run outburst in the eighth inning propelled the 'Cats to an 8-5 victory over Boston College on Sunday at Fifth Third Park, securing a four-game weekend sweep of the Hub City Invitational.

Northwestern's seven runs in the top of the seventh are its most in an inning since tallying seven runs in the second inning of a 17-2 win over Ohio State on May 11, 2025.

SPARTANBURG SWEEP ?? pic.twitter.com/U1Fyl42M9q
— Northwestern Baseball (@NUCatsBaseball) February 22, 2026

Boston College (4-3) jumped out to an early lead, plating an unearned run on a wild pitch to go ahead in the bottom of the first.

The Wildcats (5-2) evened the score at one apiece in the top of the third, taking advantage of a pair of fielding errors by the Eagles.

BC retook the lead on a two-run single by INF Ty Mainolfi in the bottom of the fifth, stretching its lead to 3-1.

Northwestern finally broke through in the top of the eighth, posting seven runs on five walks, three hits and one error. C Jay Slater broke open the scoring with a bases-loaded RBI single to cut the Eagles' lead to one. INF Jack Counsell tied the game with a sacrifice fly, and OF Griffin Mills scored on a wild pitch to give NU its first lead of the day. After INF Owen McElfatrick and INF Nick Barron drew bases-loaded walks to add on to the lead, INF Noah Ruiz drove in a pair with a two-run single, extending the lead to 8-3.

BC added one run in the eighth on an RBI single and trimmed the deficit to three on a leadoff homer in the ninth, but RHP Drew Dickson closed out the ninth to secure NU's fifth-consecutive win and his first career save.

LHP Justin Fryer recorded his first career win, allowing one run on two hits and two walks in 2.2 innings pitched, fanning a pair of Eagles.

First Career Win for @Justinfryer35 ? pic.twitter.com/FD3ncjiqbX
— Northwestern Baseball (@NUCatsBaseball) February 22, 2026

Northwestern worked 11 walks in the contest, its second time this weekend drawing double-digit free passes.

Up next, the 'Cats will travel to No. 5 Georgia Tech for a three-game set from Friday, Feb. 27 - Sunday, March 1, on ACCNX.

Northwestern Secures Doubleheader Sweep on Saturday in Spartanburg

Saturday, February 21

Offensive Depth Propels 'Cats over Cornell, 13-5

Friday, February 20

Wildcats Head to Hub City Invitational for Four Games

Thursday, February 19

Freeman Named Big Ten Player of the Week

Monday, February 16

Next Event

Georgia Tech

Feb 27 (Fri)

3 p.m. CT

ACCNX History

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Full Schedule

Team Stats

Pitching:

W: Fryer, Justin (1-0)

L: Jacob Burnham (0-1)

S: Dickson, Drew (1)

Northwestern

Batting:

RBI: McElfatrick, Owen 1 ; Barron, Nick 1 ; Ruiz, Noah 2 ; Slater, Jay 1 ; Counsell, Jack 1

SF: Counsell, Jack 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Kucherak, Ryan 1 ; Freeman, Jackson 1 ; McElfatrick, Owen 1 ; Barron, Nick 1 ; Ruiz, Noah 1 ; Mills, Griffin 1 ; Slater, Jay 1 ; Counsell, Jack 1