The number one seeded Rice Owls (40-17) open up the 2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament and play host to the fourth seeded Prairie View Panthers (28-23) on Friday evening at Reckling Park.
The Owls were the Conference USA regular-season champion and received an at-large bid, marking the schools 18th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the 10th time in 12 years that they've hosted a regional.
Rice will be led by All-American pitcher Matthew Reckling who posted an 8-2 record on the mound with an ERA of 2.90.
Meanwhile, they face a Prairie View team that went 1-12 in non-conference play but earned an at-large bid after winning the SWAC championship when they defeated Mississippi Valley State University.
It's unlikely the Panthers will have much to get past Rice in the double elimination tournament, but that's why the games are played and anything can happen.
The game will take place on Friday, June 1st at 7 P.M. EST and can be seen live on RiceOwls.com.