Road Swing Continues with First Matchup with ACU

UP NEXT: RICE @ ABILENE CHRISTIAN: Rice continues its stretch of nine consecutive and 12 of 13 games away from Reckling Park with its first-ever matchup with Abilene Christian of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) this weekend. The stretch of games in the gray or blue uniforms continues on March 10 with the opener of the 2026 Silver Glove Series at Houston, followed by a four-game slate in Phoenix, Arizona, against Saint Mary's and Grand Canyon (March 13-15). Rice returns to Reckling on St. Patrick's Day to host UTRGV and then head back on the road to open American Conference action at USF (March 20-22).

ON THE AIR: J.P. Heath will call the action this weekend on RiceOwls.com and the Varsity Network app on Wednesday. Jaden West (Play-by-Play), Roman Raffaeli (Analyst) and Caysson Higgins (Field-Level) will handle the duties on ESPN+ on Friday and WAC International on Sunday. There is no stream available for Saturday's game.

HOT LINKS
Watch:   ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

PITCHING PROBABLES:
Friday: LHP Brayden Sharp (2-1, 5.52) vs. LHP Brett Lanman (0-2, 3,55)
Saturday, RHP Ryland Urbanczyk (0-1, 0.87) vs. RHP Aidan Coleman (1-0, 4.50)
Sunday RHP Ethan Sanders (1-1, 2,29) vs. RHP Cade McGarrh (1-1, 11.05)

3/7, WAYNE GRAHAM DAY: To honor legendary head coach Wayne Graham, who passed away on September 3, 2024, Rice Athletics declared that moving forward, March 7 will be celebrated as Wayne Graham Day, commemorating his decision to wear #37 to honor Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel who wore the number in his career as manager of the Yankees and Mets. Graham played 20 of the 30 games in his major league career for Stengel as a member of the Mets in 1964. The Owls began wearing a #37 patch on their uniforms last season and continue that tradition this season.

WAYNE AND THE WAC: Graham led the Owls to at least a share of every conference title during Rice's nine seasons as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. He posted a 214-61 mark during that time. Rice represented the conference at the NCAA Championship in all nine seasons, reaching the College World Series four times, and became the third conference school to win a national championship with the Owls' win over Stanford in 2003.

PIERCE VS. ACU: While this is the first meeting in baseball between Rice and ACU, Owls head coach David Pierce is 9-0 in his career against ACU, but this is his first appearance on the road. He was 3-0 in a home series with Sam Houston in 2014 and 6-0 at Texas (all in Austin). The Longhorns' 9-1 win in 2020 was the first-ever meeting between the schools in baseball and was also the final game of the 2020 campaign before the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the pandemic.

HOME AND ROAD: The Owls are 6-3 at home this season and 1-3 on the road. The 6-3 start is their best at home since they were 6-3 to open the 2023 season. By comparison, Rice did not win its sixth home game until its 21st game at Reckling last season. The Owls have won consecutive series to open a season for the first time since 2014 and have won five straight series dating back to last season. Rice snapped an eight-game road losing streak with its 4-1 win over Lamar on Wednesday night. The Owls have lost their last four road series.

FOUR IN A ROW: The current four-game winning streak for Rice is its longest since a five-game stretch in 2024.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results