Rice left-hander Blake Fox tossed his first career shutout in a 3-0 win over FIU at the FIU ballpark Saturday night. It was the second consecutive night that No. 14 Rice blanked FIU after the Owls' series-opening 2-0 win Friday.
With the victory, the Owls (30-14, 17-6 Conference USA) remained tied atop the Conference USA standings with Southern Miss. The Panthers (22-26, 9-14 C-USA) continued their tussle with WKU and UAB for the final spot in the conference tournament. The Hilltoppers and Blazers, who are each 10-13 in the conference, are tied for seventh, one game ahead of FIU for the final seed in the C-USA tournament.