The Rice Owls baseball team will host the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Roadrunners at Reckling Park in a series of four games over five days, according to a March 30 announcement. The stretch is scheduled due to the Easter holiday.
This run of home games follows Rice’s third consecutive home series win this season. The Vaqueros are set to return on Tuesday for the second game in their two-game matchup with Rice, after the Owls won their first meeting 7-3 on March 7. Following a practice day Wednesday, Rice will resume its I-10 rivalry with UTSA for a three-game series starting Thursday evening.
J.P. Heath will provide live commentary for all games through RiceOwls.com and the Varsity Network app, with broadcasts also available on ESPN+.
Tuesday’s pitching matchup features Ty Baker for Rice and Wyatt Wiatrek for UTRGV. Baker holds an earned run average (ERA) of 5.79 without any decisions this season, while Wiatrek is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA.
Rice has shown strong performance at home so far, posting a record of nine wins and four losses at Reckling Park this year—their best start since opening 8-2 in the 2021 season. Under Head Coach David Pierce, who began his tenure as Bixby Family Head Baseball Coach recently, the Owls have achieved a .586 winning percentage at home and have won six consecutive weekend series dating back to last season.
With their recent victory over Florida Atlantic by an 8-1 scoreline, Rice improved its overall record to 17-12—marking the first time since their successful 2016 campaign that they have been five games above .500 or reached seventeen wins before playing thirty total games.
