The Rice Owls men’s baseball team will travel to Charlotte for a three-game series as part of the fourth round of American Conference action, with games scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
This matchup is significant as it continues Rice’s campaign in the American Conference, where they have consistently qualified for the conference championship tournament each season. The games are set to begin at 5:05 p.m. on Friday, 3:05 p.m. on Saturday, and 12:05 p.m. on Sunday.
Fans can follow the action with J.P. Heath providing commentary on RiceOwls.com and through the Varsity Network app. The games will also be available to watch on ESPN+ and live stats can be accessed via Statbroadcast.
Pitching matchups are slated with Tanner Wiggins starting for Rice against Eddie Copper of Charlotte on Friday, while Ethan Sanders will face Joseph Taylor on Saturday. Starters for Sunday’s game have yet to be announced.
Rice has maintained a record of 25-38 over two-plus seasons in the American Conference and holds a strong home series record but has faced challenges on the road. Heading into this weekend, Rice is one of five teams in the conference with at least a .500 record away from home diamonds and their eight wins away from home are second only to UTSA.
Historically, Rice and Charlotte have met 31 times as conference rivals with Charlotte leading narrowly due to recent successes; however, both teams have experienced extended winning streaks when playing at home. Last season, Rice won their series against Charlotte at Reckling Park before dropping the final game.
The Owls started their current season strongly by hitting two home runs in their opening inning against Northwestern and hold a +16 run differential in first innings across their first 34 games—marking their best start since 2017.
