I

n a series featuring the two Owls of Conference USA, Mother Nature ultimately stood out the most, as rain lead to a postponement of one game and the cancellation of Sunday’s finale between No. 13 Rice University and No. 16 Florida Atlantic baseball.

With both games one and two concluding as blowouts on the scoreboard for each respective team (Rice (34-15, 18-8 C-USA) won the first game 9-1 and FAU (32-16, 19-7 C-USA)  won the second 10-3), the rubber match between the pair of Owls had all the makings of a competitive game with both teams being tied at four before its eventual cancellation.

FAU travels back to Boca Raton for its last series of the regular season against Western Kentucky University starting Thursday, May 19, at 6:30 p.m.

Here is a recap of each game:

Game One: FAU 1, Rice 9.

In the first matchup between the two teams, Rice jumped out early, taking a 2-0 lead after the first inning.

Redshirt sophomore pitcher David Mckay allowed the first three Rice at-bats to load the bases; directly followed by an RBI double that FAU never recovered from.

FAU trailed throughout the entirety of game one, with the only run for coming in the third inning when a single hit to center field by senior right fielder Brett Lashley scored sophomore designated hitter Gunnar Lambert.

The Rice Owls went on to score twice more in both the third and seventh innings before three runs in the eighth inning effectively closed the book in this first matchup. This game marked the first time a Conference USA opponent has held FAU to a single run this season.

Game Two: FAU 10, Rice 3.

The roles were reversed in a game two as FAU put some early pressure on Rice’s pitching staff as well as its batting lineup who struggled to keep up with the Owls from Florida.

Junior second baseman Stephen Kerr got things started for FAU in the first inning with a single. He then scored when junior shortstop CJ Chatham grounded out to shortstop.

In the second inning, Rice responded by scoring an unearned run following a Kerr throwing error, tying the game at one run apiece.

FAU struck again in the fourth inning when hits from junior third baseman Austin Langham and freshman catcher Tyler Frank pushed the FAU lead to 3-1 before a rain delay in the fifth inning postponed the game’s conclusion to Sunday.

After having its best stretch of the series prior to the delay, FAU managed to retain its hot streak with seven runs coming in the game’s final four innings once the game resumed play.

Senior pitcher Brandon Rhodes started the game for FAU in Saturday’s half of play, but was relieved by sophomore Alex House and senior Devon Carr on Sunday’s second half.

Game three was scheduled to follow 45 minutes after game two’s conclusion but was consequently rained out in the same inning as Saturday’s delay.

Christopher Libreros is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him at @ChrisIsAirborne.