HOUSTON – A total of 55 regular season games, including 29 at Reckling Park and another two in the greater Houston area, make up the Rice baseball program’s 2018 schedule Owls head coach Wayne Graham announced on Wednesday (Oct. 11).
Rice opens the spring slate on Feb. 16 at a three-game weekend tournament in Orlando, Fla., playing Samford, UCF and Virginia. The Owls return for the Reckling Park home-opener against longtime foe Texas State on Feb. 20 before heading out to the west coast for a four-game series at Stanford (after the Cardinal visited Rice last year). The Blue & Gray then have 14 of the next 19 games in March at home, a stretch that includes rivals Texas A&M, TCU and Houston.
Rice also welcomes Houston Baptist, Sam Houston State, Gonzaga, Columbia and Lamar for non-conference games at Reckling Park. The home Conference USA slate includes Florida Atlantic, Old Dominion, Charlotte, UAB and Western Kentucky.
There are sure to be some rewards for high RPI road games. In addition to the Tournament in Orlando and four at Stanford, Rice plays C-USA series at Southern Miss, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, UTSA, Middle Tennessee in addition to traditional games at Sam Houston State, Lamar, Texas State and Houston.
The Owls play a total of three games against crosstown rival Houston where the annual Silver Glove Trophy will be on the line. The first is at Reckling Park on March 27 with a second at UH on April 10. The series finale is set for May 15 at neutral site Constellation Field, the minor league home of the Sugar Land Skeeters.
