HOUSTON (Interstat) — Tulane looks to rebound from a lopsided series-opening defeat when the Green Wave face Rice in the second game of an American Athletic Conference series Friday evening at M.O. Campbell Center.

First pitch is scheduled under clear skies and 85-degree heat. Rice (32-22 overall) enters with the upper hand after a 12-0 rout Thursday, while Tulane (25-29) seeks to avoid a second straight loss in the three-game set.

Tanner Wiggins, Rice’s ace, is a key figure after shutting out Tulane on three hits over seven innings with one strikeout in Thursday’s win. The right-hander has been durable, pitching at least six innings in each of his last four starts, though his outings have been uneven. He allowed eight earned runs on 13 hits against UAB on May 2 and five earned runs at Wichita State on April 24.

For Tulane, right-hander Jude Abbadessa enters with recent struggles. He has surrendered earned runs in three of his last four appearances, including two earned runs over 0.2 innings against Charlotte on May 3 and three earned runs in one-third of an inning at LSU on May 5. His lone scoreless outing in that span came Thursday against Rice, when he threw a perfect inning.

Thursday’s win was Rice’s most dominant performance of the series against a Tulane team that has been inconsistent. The Green Wave dropped three of four at Charlotte from May 1-3 and lost at LSU 13-6 on May 5. Tulane did show resilience in taking two of three from South Florida at home last weekend, including a 9-5 win May 10.

Rice, meanwhile, has won four of its last six. The Owls took two of three at East Carolina from May 8-10, losing 3-0 in the finale, before falling 14-3 at Houston on Tuesday.

Projections for Friday’s matchup are split. Interstat’s game simulator favors Rice 7-4, while the outlet’s ELO system gives Tulane a 56.6 percent probability to win.

The series concludes Saturday. Tulane and Rice are scheduled to play again at M.O. Campbell Center.