Rice University Athletics
Friday, April 10
Charlotte, NC
5:05 PM
Rice University
at
Charlotte
Photo by: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics
Owls Head to Charlotte for Three
4/9/2026 8:45:00 PM | Baseball
Series opens at 5:05 on Friday
Rice travels to Charlotte this weekend for the fourth round of American Conference action. Game times are set for 5:05 on Friday, 3:05 on Saturday, and 12:05 on Sunday.
ON THE AIR: J.P. Heath will call the action on RiceOwls.com and the Varsity Network app.
HOT LINKS
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
PITCHING PROBABLES:
Friday: Tanner Wiggins (1-1, 3.16) vs. RHP Eddie Copper (3-1, 2.97)
Saturday: Ethan Sanders (1-4, 4.08) vs. RHP Joseph Taylor (4-3, 6.06)
Sunday: TBA vs. TBA
AMERICAN WAY: Rice is 25-38 in two-plus seasons in the American Conference and has qualified for the conference championship tournament in each season. Rice is 7-4 in home series in the conference and has a 16-17 overall record in that stretch. The Owls are 9-21 on the road in the conference, winning one road series each year.
ROAD TESTED: Heading into the weekend, Rice (8-8) is one of five American Conference teams to have at least a .500 record in games away from their home diamonds, and the Owls' eight wins away from home are the second most in the American, trailing only UTSA (12-7).
OWLS & 49ERS: Rice and Charlotte have met 31 times, all as members of the same conference (25 in C-USA, 6 in the AAC) and all in the regular season. Charlotte leads the series 16-15 thanks to winning nine of the last 12. Rice won eight of the first nine, beginning with a three-game sweep in Charlotte in 2015, and took the first three series. After the 49ers won five three-game slates and split a four-game series between 2017-24, the Owls won the series vs. Charlotte last season at Reckling, winning 2-0 and 7-6 before dropping the finale 12-4. The series in Charlotte has been defined by a seven-game winning streak for each team. Rice won the first seven games on the 49ers' home field, followed by a seven-game run by the home team from 2019-24, before Rice took an 8-7 lead in the series by winning the finale in 2024.
START ME UP: Rice ushered in the 2026 season by slamming a pair of home runs in the first inning of the season's opening game against Northwestern, and has outscored the opposition 32-16 in the first inning through 34 games. Their +16 run differential is their highest since they were a +43 in 2017 (61-18), and since that year, Rice has outscored opponents in the first inning in a season just twice (40-38 in 2025 and 34-32 in 20-23). Rice is 11-1 when scoring in the opening inning this year.
ON THE AIR: J.P. Heath will call the action on RiceOwls.com and the Varsity Network app.
HOT LINKS
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
PITCHING PROBABLES:
Friday: Tanner Wiggins (1-1, 3.16) vs. RHP Eddie Copper (3-1, 2.97)
Saturday: Ethan Sanders (1-4, 4.08) vs. RHP Joseph Taylor (4-3, 6.06)
Sunday: TBA vs. TBA
AMERICAN WAY: Rice is 25-38 in two-plus seasons in the American Conference and has qualified for the conference championship tournament in each season. Rice is 7-4 in home series in the conference and has a 16-17 overall record in that stretch. The Owls are 9-21 on the road in the conference, winning one road series each year.
ROAD TESTED: Heading into the weekend, Rice (8-8) is one of five American Conference teams to have at least a .500 record in games away from their home diamonds, and the Owls' eight wins away from home are the second most in the American, trailing only UTSA (12-7).
OWLS & 49ERS: Rice and Charlotte have met 31 times, all as members of the same conference (25 in C-USA, 6 in the AAC) and all in the regular season. Charlotte leads the series 16-15 thanks to winning nine of the last 12. Rice won eight of the first nine, beginning with a three-game sweep in Charlotte in 2015, and took the first three series. After the 49ers won five three-game slates and split a four-game series between 2017-24, the Owls won the series vs. Charlotte last season at Reckling, winning 2-0 and 7-6 before dropping the finale 12-4. The series in Charlotte has been defined by a seven-game winning streak for each team. Rice won the first seven games on the 49ers' home field, followed by a seven-game run by the home team from 2019-24, before Rice took an 8-7 lead in the series by winning the finale in 2024.
START ME UP: Rice ushered in the 2026 season by slamming a pair of home runs in the first inning of the season's opening game against Northwestern, and has outscored the opposition 32-16 in the first inning through 34 games. Their +16 run differential is their highest since they were a +43 in 2017 (61-18), and since that year, Rice has outscored opponents in the first inning in a season just twice (40-38 in 2025 and 34-32 in 20-23). Rice is 11-1 when scoring in the opening inning this year.
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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