SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Cornell dropped both games of its season-opening doubleheader on Friday, falling to Northwestern 13-5 and Boston College 9-1 at Fifth Third Park in Spartanburg, S.C., to open play at the Hub City Invitational.

NORTHWESTERN RECAP
Seven unanswered runs between the third and fifth innings allowed Northwestern to pull away for a 13-5 victory over Cornell in the opening game of Friday's doubleheader.

Northwestern collected 14 base hits on the afternoon, with six different Wildcat players recording multi-hit performances and four driving in two runs apiece. Sam Hliboki started on the mound for Northwestern and struck out six Big Red batters over five innings, with Tommy Bridges earning the save after tossing the final three frames.

Cornell junior Owen Carlson and seniors Caden Wildman and TJ Swidorski each finished with two hits for the Big Red. Carlson and freshman Jake Hower led the offense with two RBI apiece.

The Wildcats drew first blood in the top of the first when Owen McElfatrick singled to right field to score Jack Lausch from third, but Cornell answered immediately in the bottom half as Wildman drove in sophomore catcher Mason Barela with an RBI single. Northwestern reclaimed the lead for good in the second on back-to-back sacrifice flies from Jack Counsell and Lausch to make it 3-1. Cornell pulled within one in the bottom half when sophomore designated hitter Jayden Shin led off with a triple and scored on a Hower sacrifice fly.

Northwestern then broke the game open with seven unanswered runs across the third, fourth and fifth innings, capped by Jay Slater's two-run triple down the right-field line before he scored on a Cornell wild pitch that pushed Northwestern's lead to 10-2.

Cornell responded offensively in the fifth when Carlson launched a two-run home run to right field to make it 10-4 after freshman left fielder Caden Callaway drew a two-out walk. Hower added an RBI single in the sixth to score Swidorski, who had led the inning off with a single, trimming the deficit to 10-5.

In the eighth, Northwestern tallied the first of three insurance runs as an RBI triple by Jackson Freeman set up a sacrifice fly from McElfatrick and a pinch-hit, bases-loaded walk by Logan de Groot.

Senior right-hander Carson Mayfield made his third consecutive opening-day start for Cornell, allowing seven runs on nine hits over 3 1/3 innings with one walk and two strikeouts. Left-hander Noah Keller provided a strong relief outing, striking out a team-high five batters across 2 2/3 innings.

BOSTON COLLEGE RECAP
Despite striking out 15 Boston College batters, Cornell couldn't overcome the Eagles' timely hitting, falling 9-1 in the nightcap.

Boston College scored in six different innings, doing its damage with two-out hits and opportunistic at-bats throughout.

Junior left-hander Huxley Holcombe started for Cornell, striking out five batters over four innings but allowing seven hits and three runs. Freshman right-hander Ross Yoshida was the bright spot out of the bullpen, fanning six batters over three innings while allowing two runs, and junior right-hander Max Foster closed things out with four strikeouts over the final two frames.

Boston College starter AJ Colarusso was equally dominant on the other side, holding Cornell to one hit and one run over five innings while striking out seven. Cesar Gonzalez and Luke D'Ancona were stingy in relief, combining to hold Cornell hitless over the final four innings with five additional strikeouts between them.

The Eagles jumped on top immediately, scoring in each of the first three innings. Wang opened the scoring with an RBI groundout in the first, DeShazo added a run on a fielder's choice in the second and Wolff's RBI single in the third pushed the lead to 3-0.

Boston College extended its lead to 4-0 in the top of the fifth on an unearned run after a trio of Cornell errors. The Big Red responded in the bottom half when junior shortstop Kevin Hager drew a leadoff walk and Hower followed with a single. Freshman third baseman Aiden Barclay moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt before Hager scored on a passed ball to make it 4-1.

The Eagles closed out the game adding two runs in the sixth before plating one run in the eighth and two in the ninth.

GAME NOTES
• Cornell and Northwestern met for the fifth time in program history on Friday. The eight-run margin of victory was the first-ever game between the Big Red and Wildcats that was decided by multiple runs. The Big Red's lead in the series now stands at 3-2.

• In the nightcap, Cornell and Boston College met for the fourth time in program history and the first since April 28, 1939. The Eagles increased their lead in the all-time series to 3-1.

• By making the start in the opening game, Mayfield became the first Cornell pitcher to earn three consecutive opening-day starts since Nick Bayer in 1998 (West Chester), 1999 (Iona) and 2000 (Bucknell). He is the first Big Red hurler to register three opening-day starts since Corey Pappel (2008, 2010, 2011).

• Friday marked the collegiate debuts of several Big Red players. Freshmen Aiden Barclay, Caden Callaway and Jake Hower all made their first collegiate starts in the opener against Northwestern, joined by sophomore Jayden Shin, who also made his first collegiate start. Sophomore Braeden Johnson, freshman Trent Lopez and junior Andrew Houghton each made their Big Red debuts in relief. Lopez stepped into the starting lineup in the nightcap against Boston College, with Yoshida also making his collegiate debut out of the bullpen.

• Cornell's 15 combined strikeouts were tied for the third-most in program history and represented its highest total in a game since also fanning 15 Princeton batters in its regular-season finale on May 4, 2025.

MOST STRIKEOUTS IN A GAME
Cornell Program History
• 18, at Princeton (April 29, 2009 – W, 9-0)
• 17, at Delaware State (March 21, 2003 – W, 7-4 – 14 inn.)
• 15, at Hawai'i-Hilo (March 22, 1979 – 6-3 – 7 inn.)
• 15, vs. Scranton (May 9, 1989 – W, 4-3)
• 15, at Columbia (April 19, 2003 – W, 7-1)
• 15, vs. Princeton (May 4, 2003 – L, 3-9)
• 15, vs. Canisius (April 4, 2018 – W, 6-5 – 10 inn.)
• 15, vs. Princeton (May 4, 2025 – L, 2-5)
• 15, vs. Boston College (Feb. 20, 2026 – L, 1-9)

UP NEXT
Cornell will look to bounce back on Saturday, Feb. 21, against Northwestern, before closing out the Hub City Invitational on Sunday against Boston College. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for noon. No live stream will be available.

Right-handed pitcher Ethan Van Sice is scheduled to make his first collegiate start and will go up against Wildcats right-hander Garrett Shearer (0-0, 16.20 ERA).