Rice University will face Houston in the final game of the Silver Glove Series on Tuesday, stepping outside conference play before concluding its regular season with three games against Tulane. The announcement was made on May 11 as Rice aims to secure a top four seed at the American Conference Championship.
The outcome of these games is significant because four out of eight slots for the American Conference Baseball Championship have already been filled by Rice, UTSA, ECU, and UAB. However, competition remains tight for both remaining spots and top-four byes. Rice is currently tied with UAB in third place at 13-11 but holds a tiebreaker advantage after sweeping UAB two weeks ago. Both teams trail ECU by one game; however, Rice also has an edge over ECU after winning two out of three games last weekend.
The Silver Glove Series between Rice and Houston began in 1998 and has continued every year except during pandemic disruptions in 2020 and 2021. Houston won the inaugural matchup, but Rice responded by taking the next three games that year. While Houston has won eight of the last ten series—including four straight—Rice leads overall with a record of 60-42.
With recent wins on the road against East Carolina in Greenville, Rice improved its away record to 13-10 this season—the highest among teams in the American Conference—and achieved double-digit road wins for the first time since finishing with a similar mark in 2017. The Owls’ current overall record stands at 31-21 heading into their final four regular-season contests—a notable improvement from last year’s total victories.
Head coach David Pierce’s first full season at Rice has resulted in a fourteen-win increase compared to last year, marking his largest single-season improvement across his head coaching assignments so far.
