NIU baseball opened its season with a 10-2 victory on the road over North Carolina A&T on Friday, backed by a strong pitching performance.
NIU’s season-opening win was the first time the program began the season 1-0, dating back 11 years to the 2015 season when the team took down South Dakota State.
The Huskies picked up right where they left off last season, scoring in double figures in its inaugural game of the 2026 season.
Junior outfielder Charlie Parcell and senior infielder Cole Smith tied for the team lead in runs batted in on Friday, each totaling 3 RBI’s in the win.
Parcell, hitting in the leadoff spot on Friday, came to the plate six times in Friday’s contest and reached base safely in three of those plate appearances.
The left-handed outfielder reached base on a base hit, a walk and a hit by pitch. To go along with his three RBI’s, Parcell also scored 2 runs.
Last year’s team leader in stolen bases, Parcell was able to steal two quick bases in NIU’s season opener on the road.
“Charlie’s maturity as an offensive player in our program has been really fun to watch,” said NIU baseball head coach Ryan Copeland. “I don’t know that he takes those walks last year or his freshman year. It’s exactly what this team needs. He singlehandedly created that first run for us all by himself. For him, it’s not just about the slug, he’s going to find a way to have really good at-bats and drive the pitch count up.”
Smith’s lone hit of the day came in the Huskies’ 5-run rally in the fourth inning on a 3-run triple, which opened the scoring to 7-0.
“Cole really threw the knockout punch there with that big triple off the wall in center field,” Copeland said postgame.
Junior infielder Vinny Spotofora and senior catcher Ivan Dahlberg also made big impacts in their first games with the Huskies.
Spotofora reached base four times in his Huskie debut, totaling 2 hits and 2 walks, while also driving in the first 2 runs of his NIU career.
Dahlberg collected the first two hits of his time at NIU in five trips to the plate on Friday. Both of the left-handed catcher’s hits went for extra bases, and he eventually scored both times he reached base.
“You need guys that can step into the program right away and make a difference,” Copeland said. “It was really good to see a couple guys that we brought in. You want all your guys to succeed, but it feels good when the guys you bring into the program for the first time are able to go off and get the season started.”
NIU’s pitching staff also delivered a solid performance in its first action of the season.
Sophomore pitcher Carter Cox earned the nod to toe the rubber on opening day after making just six starts for the club last season.
Cox delivered 5 innings of 1-run ball in the season opener and delivered a career-high 10 strikeouts en route to a win.
Cox ranked second on the team in ERA in 2025, his freshman year and finished with the third-most strikeouts on the club.
“I thought Carter’s sharpness was just ok,” Copeland said. “His fastball velocity wasn’t where we think it will be. He had some trouble early, landing the breaking ball. But he just always finds a way to make the big pitch when he needs to. He settled in, and pitched inside extremely well, setting a career high in strikeouts. When the game was still in reach he made a big pitch when he needed to.”
Following Cox’s departure from the game after the fifth inning, NIU’s bullpen delivered four innings while surrendering only one run to close out the win over the Aggies.
Senior pitcher Gavin Micklingoff was the first to answer the call out of the bullpen, throwing two perfect innings with three strikeouts.
Freshman pitcher Mason Orton, making his collegiate debut, worked the eighth inning, giving up a solo home run in his only inning.
Junior pitcher Ben Kasten pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the game, striking out one batter while working to the minimum.
UP NEXT
The Huskies’ will continue its series at 1 p.m. Saturday against North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, North Carolina. Live stats will be available via Stat Broadcast.
