HOUSTON -- It wasn’t the start FIU was looking for.

First came rain, which delayed the start of the Panthers’ season opener by more than 2 1/2 hours. Then came Rice, which washed them away with a pair of home runs in a 6-2 win Friday at Reckling Park.

They’re scheduled to resume their three-game series at 3 p.m. Saturday.

The Panthers (0-1) had their chances early. But Adam Kirsch and Nathan Burns were caught stealing on consecutive at-bats in the second inning, and Pablo Bermudez was picked off to end the third.

FIU coach Turtle Thomas said those mistakes came down to missed signs.

“Everything factors in when you’ve got a baseball game, and you’re playing a good quality opponent like Rice for sure,” Thomas said.

The Owls (1-0) took a 1-0 lead in the second when starter R.J. Fondon (0-1), who went five innings with four hits allowed, gave up a two-out, solo home run to No. 9 hitter Christian Stringer.

Tough inning

Fondon walked the first two batters he faced in the third, and both scored, helping Rice take a 3-0 lead.

FIU trimmed the deficit to 3-1 in the fourth when Burns plated T.J. Shantz, but the Owls pulled away in the seventh on Shane Hoelscher’s three-run homer to left field off reliever Eddy Pidermann.

The Owls’ long balls ultimately were the difference in the score.

“They had a solo home run with two outs, we threw one right down the middle, and then we threw another one on a 2-2 count, right down the middle, and both of them left the yard,” Thomas said.

The Panthers added one more run in the eighth after Shantz reached on an error and scored on Kirsch’s single to right, but a lack of clutch hitting and eight stranded runners kept the Owls ahead.

Fondon gave up three earned runs and fanned seven, and Pidermann surrendered three earned runs on three hits in 1 1/3 innings.

Rudy Flores went 2 for 4 to lead the Panthers at the plate.

Austin Kubitza (1-0) earned the win for Rice, striking out eight and allowing one earned run on four hits through seven innings.

“Basically, we struck out way too many times, we struck out too many times with people on base, we’re guessing at the plate over and over and over, and we were behind every hitter under the sun,” Thomas said.

“We did the things that you’re going to [do to] lose a baseball game.”

Saturday’s pitcher

Left-handed pitcher Mason McVay is the probable starter for FIU today. RHP Matt Reckling is expected to start for Rice.

“It’s a learning process, and the thing is it’s the first game of the year, we’ve got to learn, we’ve got a lot of new pieces to plug in and figure out how to play the game the FIU way, and that sort of thing,” Thomas said.