As explosive as the Kansas University baseball team’s offense is, Baylor — KU’s next opponent — is even more potent, all but guaranteeing a potentially remarkable shootout at Hoglund Ballpark this weekend.

“I hope the wind isn’t blowing out,” KU coach Ritch Price said. “I look at the offensive numbers of Baylor’s team, and they’re scary. It’s going to be an interesting weekend.”

Baylor, ranked No. 21 in the ESPN Top 25 coaches poll, brings the top offense in the Big 12 Conference to Lawrence for a 7 p.m. game tonight, leading the conference in batting average, hits, doubles and home runs. The Jayhawks are right behind, though, ranking second in the same four categories.

With the earned run averages of both pitching staffs in the bottom half of the Big 12, it might not be a stretch to expect an abundance of runs by both teams in all three games this weekend.

The Bears (28-16 overall, 9-9 Big 12) boasts the conference’s leading hitter in David Murphy, whose .430 average is 26 points higher than second-place Scooter Jordan of Texas Tech. Murphy is complemented by senior Chris Durbin, who has 15 home runs, second in the Big 12.

Meanwhile, the Jayhawks (31-16, 6-9) have plenty of firepower of their own, with seven of their regular starters hitting better than .300. Senior Casey Spanish (.399) and junior Ryan Baty (.385) both are flirting with .400.

In addition, Baty, Kevin Wheeler and Travis Metcalf each have pounded nine homers, tying for third in the conference.

“I think we’ve made progress one through nine in our lineup,” Price said. “In order to be good offensively, you’ve got to get production from top to bottom. We’ve definitely improved on that.”

Price will start junior Ryan Knippschild (7-3, 5.06 ERA) tonight, with junior Chris Smart (1-2, 4.93) and Wheeler (5-2, 5.28) pitching Saturday and Sunday.

“We lack arm strength,” Price said of his pitching strategy. “We’re not a staff that can go out and strike out a lot of batters, so we’re going to have to play outstanding defense.”