Rice scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning Thursday and went on to defeat Old Dominion 4-3 in the Conference USA baseball tournament at MGM Park, sending the Monarchs to the losers' bracket.
ODU, the No. 2 seed, took a 1-0 lead on a second-inning sacrifice fly by Nick Walker (Kellam) before the sixth-seeded Owls pulled ahead for good in the third, taking advantage of a hit batsman, a throwing error and a wild pitch.
Both teams scored in the fifth and the Monarchs added a run in the sixth on Vinnie Pasquantino's RBI single to make it 4-3.