It’s scoreboard watching season for Kansas University’s baseball team – provided it takes care of its own business first.

Left for dead not too long ago, the Jayhawks still are very alive in the Big 12 Conference tournament race. The top eight teams of the 10 who play baseball in the conference qualify for the tourney, which will start May 23 in Oklahoma City.

Kansas currently is tied for eighth.

The Jayhawks can help their cause this weekend with a three-game set against rival Kansas State. The first game will be played at 6:30 p.m. today in Manhattan. The series then shifts to Lawrence for the final two games at Hoglund Ballpark – the first at 3 p.m. Saturday and the finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.

The series has huge postseason implications for both schools. The Jayhawks (22-26 overall, 8-13 Big 12 play) are tied for eighth alongside Baylor, with Texas Tech in the cellar just 1â2 game behind.

Current position, though, means little because of how close everyone is in the lower half of the standings. Besides Texas Tech, Kansas State (29-17, 7-11) and Oklahoma State are just 11â2 games in front of Kansas and Baylor. With at least two series remaining for each team, it’s a long way from being sorted out.

“We control our own destiny,” KU coach Ritch Price said. “If we can find a way to win the series this weekend, we put ourselves in a position to go against Nebraska the final weekend and control our own destiny.”

Kansas, while not exactly lighting up the Big 12 schedule, still stayed close enough to have a chance in May. The Jayhawks have yet to get swept in a three-game conference set this season, and winning the final two in the three-game series at Oklahoma last weekend threw KU right back in the postseason hunt.

“Now we’ve got to build a winning streak and win four or five in a row and get ourselves in a position to play the last two weeks for something important,” Price said.

Kansas already has played Kansas State in a weeknight game last month that didn’t count in the Big 12 standings. The Wildcats won, 10-6.

This time around, the Jayhawks expect to have their three weekend left-handers take the hill. Andy Marks (3-6, 6.15 ERA) is expected to go today, with Nick Czyz (3-6, 4.21) slated for Saturday and Waly Marciel (4-2, 4.31) ready for Sunday.

Kansas State will throw two right-handers before closing the series with a southpaw of its own. Most of their lefties, though, are swinging the bats.

“They’ve got four or five left-handed hitters that can really run,” Price said. “It’s going to be interesting because they’re going to run their left-handed hitters up against our three left-handed starters.”

Kansas and Kansas State are the only Big 12 tournament bubble teams playing a conference series this weekend. The other Big 12 matchups include Oklahoma versus Oklahoma State and Missouri at Texas. The rest of the conference either is playing nonconference series or taking the weekend off.