Jon Duplantier allowed just three hits over 8 1/3 innings to lead No. 14 Rice to a 2-0 win over FIU at the FIU ballpark Friday night. Glenn Otto got the final two outs in the bottom of the ninth to record his eighth save.
The Owls (29-14, 16-6 Conference USA) took the opener of a three-game set with the Panthers (22-25, 9-13 C-USA) in a game that took just two hours and 14 minutes to complete. It was the fastest game played this season by FIU. Previously, FIU played a two-hour and 16-minute game at Louisiana Tech on April 16.