Kansas University baseball coach Ritch Price said Friday the Hoglund Ballpark field was in the best shape he had seen it since he arrived at KU three years ago.

Above, Big 12 conference umpires Mike Morris, left, and Doug Williams wait for the lights to be turned back on at Hoglund Ballpark as KU athletic facilities personnel J.D. Loudabarger, left, and Casey Cook analyze the problem.

The weather was equally impressive: a comfortable, windless preview of the cool Kansas early summer nights ahead.

It was quite cruel, then, that the electricity would fail on a night so perfect for baseball. A power outage at Hoglund Ballpark postponed Friday’s Big 12 Conference matchup with Oklahoma State after three innings, with KU leading, 6-3.

“You saw one of the sections blow out,” Price said of the second-inning foreshadowing. “Now the main transformer is out. It’s a major problem.”

The game will be resumed at 3 p.m. today, with Oklahoma State ready to bat in the fourth inning. If the power problem is fixed in time, the second game of the series would go on as scheduled, starting around 6 p.m.

If there still isn’t power, only Friday’s game would be finished today, and then there would be a doubleheader Sunday. But the hope is that the problem is solved immediately.

“They told me they would have it fixed,” Price said.

6Sports video: Power outage ends game early for Jayhawks

2005 Big 12 Baseball Tournament Watch

Kansas will have to adjust to the 19-hour delay, which could present a few headaches. For one, starting pitcher Sean Land, who struck out four in three innings of work Friday, likely won’t be able to return to the mound today.

The Cowboys won’t have the same problem. Oklahoma State’s starter, Thomas Cowley, already was taken out after 2 2/3 rough innings. He gave up runs in each frame, including three in the first on a bases-clearing double by Sean Richardson.

Kansas University players, from left, Brock Simpson, Jared Schweitzer and John Allman play a game of flip to stay loose during the stoppage of play. Friday night's game was postponed because of a blown master fuse. KU led Oklahoma State, 6-3, after three innings.

Gus Milner drove in two more on a single in the second, and Ryne Price hit a sacrifice fly in the third to keep Oklahoma State away from the lead.

After the third, the umpires gathered with the coaches and decided to try and fix the electrical problems before continuing, even though daylight probably would have lasted for one or two more innings. After about an hour of trying to fix the outage, KU officials decided to postpone the game around 9 p.m.

“We’re just going to have to come out and play like we started this game,” center fielder Matt Baty said. “It’s going to take some character to keep the momentum on our side because right now, that’s what they’re after.”

Friday’s game — pre-power problems — was a promising start to what might have been a postseason-berth-clinching night for the Jayhawks. KU could have wrapped up a berth in next week’s Big 12 Conference tournament with a win and losses by Texas A&M and Kansas State. The Aggies and Wildcats both lost, but KU didn’t get a chance to complete the trifecta.

Kansas University's Jared Schweitzer strokes a hit against Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks were leading the Cowboys, 6-3, when the game was postponed because of a power outage Friday night at Hoglund Ballpark.

But now, the magic number is one — if the Jayhawks win any of this weekend’s games against Oklahoma State, they’re in. If Texas A&M and Kansas State both lose one more, it won’t matter what KU does.

Price is adamant that the plan remains the same: Keep the scoreboard watching to a minimum and handle your own business.

“We’ve really tried to preach to take care of ourselves,” Price said. “We control our own destiny.”

Not on this night, though. Friday, a worn-out transformer had the final say in what was going to go down at Hoglund Ballpark. And it wasn’t what anybody had in mind.

“Baseball,” Baty said with a grin, “is just a weird game.”