CLEARWATER, Fla. (Interstat) — The American Athletic Conference baseball championship opens Friday evening with a familiar matchup: seed UAB faces seed Rice at BayCare Ballpark.

UAB (31-25) and Rice (35-22) met in a three-game series in Houston just three weeks ago. Rice swept those games, winning 16-9, 12-2 and 10-3. The Owls outscored the Blazers 38-14 over the weekend.

Rice enters the tournament as the higher seed after closing the regular season with a 5-4 victory over Wichita State on Thursday. Shortstop Kutter-Gage Webb went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs in that win. Webb has been productive against UAB this season, going 3-for-6 with two homers and two RBIs in the two games he played in the series.

UAB comes in off a 7-3 loss to Memphis on Thursday. Right-hander Chase Ingram threw 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing four hits with five strikeouts. Ingram has appeared in four of UAB’s last six games, posting a 1.80 ERA over 10 innings in that span. In his previous outing against Rice on May 2, he allowed nine earned runs in 2 1/3 innings.

Both teams have shown offensive firepower. UAB scored 23 runs in a win at Texas-San Antonio on May 16, then lost 19-9 the next day. Rice scored 12 runs in a shutout of Tulane on May 14 and has won four of its last five.

The Blazers rely on Ingram and left-hander Brendan Conner, who threw 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball against Memphis. Andrew Hunt went 1-for-4 with an RBI in that game. Rice counters with Webb, who has homered in three of his last six games, and a bullpen anchored by Zach Fetchel, who pitched two scoreless innings Thursday.

Friday’s winner advances in the double-elimination tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.