Rice University Athletics
Friday, May 8
Greenville, NC
5:05 PM
Rice University
at
East Carolina
Photo by: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics
Owls Face Pirates in Final Road Series
5/7/2026 9:45:00 PM | Baseball
Series opens at 5:05 on Friday
HOUSTON: Rice (29-20/11-10) opens a four-game slate that will close out the regular season schedule away from Reckling Park this weekend with a three-game series against ECU (29-18-1/13-9), followed by the final game of the Silver Glove Series at Houston on Tuesday.
ON THE AIR: J.P. Heath will call the action on RiceOwls.com and the Varsity Network app+ all weekend while Patrick Johnson and Mike Mullis will call the action on ESPN+.
HOT LINKS
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
OWLS AND PIRATES: Rice leads the all-time series 24-17 since the schools first met in 2006 when the Owls joined Conference USA. Rice won nine of the first 10 and 17 of the first 20, while ECU has won 14 of the last 17, including the last eight when the series resumed in 2024, when Rice joined the American Conference. Rice's last win at Clark-LeClair Stadium came on 4/7/13 when Michael Aquino's two-run double put the Owls up 8-7. Zec Lemond shut out the Pirates over the last 3.2 innings in relief.
PIERCE AND THE PIRATES: Bixby Family Head Baseball Coach David Pierce is 5-8 in his career vs. East Carolina, including a 3-3 mark in Greenville. He was 1-2 with Tulane in 2015 and returned in 2022 with Texas for the Super Regional. The Longhorns dropped the opener and were seven outs from their season ending before erasing a 7-2 deficit to win 9-8 and then earn their third trip to the College World Series under Pierce with an 11-1 win the following day.
DOWN THE STRETCH: With six conference games remaining, Rice is in a tight race to qualify for the American Conference Championship for the third consecutive season. The Owls (11-10) are in fourth, one game ahead of Florida Atlantic, Memphis, and Wichita State. The Shockers host FAU this weekend while Memphis hosts conference leader UTSA. Rice closes out the season hosting Tulane (8-13) , which hosts USF (8-13) this weekend.
WINNING PACE: With a 29-20 record heading into the final seven games of the regular season, Rice has seen a 12-win improvement from its final win total in 2025. The 12-game jump is the largest since Wayne Graham led Rice to a 13-game improvement in his first season as head coach in 1992 (16-34 to a 29-26). The 29 wins are the Owls' most since they ended 2017 with a 33-31 record. That season, Rice closed the regular season 27-29 before winning the Conference USA Championship and winning twice at the Baton Rouge Regional. Rice last ended a regular season over .500 in 2016 (32-20). Rice's 5-3 win over Sam Houston on 4/15 improved the Owls' season record to 24-13, its highest margin over .500 since the end of the 2016 season (38-24).
FAMILIAR SCRIPT: Rice's 12-game improvement in David Pierce's first full season as head coach is in line with his impact at each of his three previous head coaching assignments. In 2012, he led a 35-win Sam Houston squad to 40 wins (+5). Four years later, he guided Tulane to a 12-game improvement and then, in 2017, led Texas to a 13-game increase in wins.
ON THE AIR: J.P. Heath will call the action on RiceOwls.com and the Varsity Network app+ all weekend while Patrick Johnson and Mike Mullis will call the action on ESPN+.
HOT LINKS
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
OWLS AND PIRATES: Rice leads the all-time series 24-17 since the schools first met in 2006 when the Owls joined Conference USA. Rice won nine of the first 10 and 17 of the first 20, while ECU has won 14 of the last 17, including the last eight when the series resumed in 2024, when Rice joined the American Conference. Rice's last win at Clark-LeClair Stadium came on 4/7/13 when Michael Aquino's two-run double put the Owls up 8-7. Zec Lemond shut out the Pirates over the last 3.2 innings in relief.
PIERCE AND THE PIRATES: Bixby Family Head Baseball Coach David Pierce is 5-8 in his career vs. East Carolina, including a 3-3 mark in Greenville. He was 1-2 with Tulane in 2015 and returned in 2022 with Texas for the Super Regional. The Longhorns dropped the opener and were seven outs from their season ending before erasing a 7-2 deficit to win 9-8 and then earn their third trip to the College World Series under Pierce with an 11-1 win the following day.
DOWN THE STRETCH: With six conference games remaining, Rice is in a tight race to qualify for the American Conference Championship for the third consecutive season. The Owls (11-10) are in fourth, one game ahead of Florida Atlantic, Memphis, and Wichita State. The Shockers host FAU this weekend while Memphis hosts conference leader UTSA. Rice closes out the season hosting Tulane (8-13) , which hosts USF (8-13) this weekend.
WINNING PACE: With a 29-20 record heading into the final seven games of the regular season, Rice has seen a 12-win improvement from its final win total in 2025. The 12-game jump is the largest since Wayne Graham led Rice to a 13-game improvement in his first season as head coach in 1992 (16-34 to a 29-26). The 29 wins are the Owls' most since they ended 2017 with a 33-31 record. That season, Rice closed the regular season 27-29 before winning the Conference USA Championship and winning twice at the Baton Rouge Regional. Rice last ended a regular season over .500 in 2016 (32-20). Rice's 5-3 win over Sam Houston on 4/15 improved the Owls' season record to 24-13, its highest margin over .500 since the end of the 2016 season (38-24).
FAMILIAR SCRIPT: Rice's 12-game improvement in David Pierce's first full season as head coach is in line with his impact at each of his three previous head coaching assignments. In 2012, he led a 35-win Sam Houston squad to 40 wins (+5). Four years later, he guided Tulane to a 12-game improvement and then, in 2017, led Texas to a 13-game increase in wins.
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