FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason baseball team will play Rice University in its first game of the 2014 NCAA Division 1 Baseball Championship as announced by the NCAA Division 1 Baseball Committee on Monday.

The fourth-seeded Patriots (34-20) and the top-seeded Owls (41-18) will play at 8:00 p.m. EDT in the Houston Regional on Friday, May 30, following the game between second-seeded Texas (38-18) vs. third-seeded Texas A&M (33-24) at 4:00 p.m.

Mason received an automatic tournament bid after winning the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship on Saturday, defeating Dayton, Saint Joseph’s and VCU twice to win four games in four days. Rice won the Conference USA Tournament and clinched their 20th consecutive tournament appearance, also being named a Regional host on Sunday afternoon. The Patriots will be making their first NCAA Regional appearance since 2009.

Each of the 16 regionals features four teams, playing a double-elimination format. The regionals are scheduled to be conducted from Friday, May 30, to Monday, June 2 (if necessary). Selection of the eight super regional hosts will be announced on www.NCAA.com/cws, Monday, June 2 at approximately 11 p.m. (ET).

For ticket information and complete Mason tournament coverage, visit our Regional homepage by clicking here. Friday night’s game between Mason and Rice will be broadcast on ESPN3.com and live audio will be available on GoMason.com