When Kansas opened up the Big 12 Conference against Nebraska last weekend in Hoglund Ballpark, it was in front of roughly 1,000 fans, and many of them were donning Husker apparel.

As Kansas heads to College Station to take on Texas A&M;, led by veteran coach Mark Johnson, in a three-game weekend series, it can plan on playing its second Big 12 Conference opponent of the year in front of a more Texas-sized crowd. That crowd does not faze Kansas coach Ritch Price in the slightest, he said.

“It’s my favorite place I’ve ever been to play. The atmosphere is absolutely incredible,” Price said. “There will be 7,000 people there and their passion for baseball is awesome.”

The Jayhawks prepare to face the Aggies, who had more than 5,500 fans at their last home game on Tuesday.

The Aggies (20-9, 2-4), ranked No. 16 by Baseball America, sit in the eighth spot in the Big 12 standings, only one spot higher than the Jayhawks (21-10, 1-2). Kansas lost its series against Nebraska, while Texas A&M; dropped its conference-opening series to Texas Tech and Oklahoma.

Although Kansas could not take the series from No. 8 Nebraska, the team continued to show strength and improvement on the field and at the plate.

“I think we’re ready to play in this conference,” junior outfielder Matt Baty said. “We’ve struggled in years past, and I think this is the year we’ll do some damage in the Big 12.”

Now batting .313 as a team, the Jayhawk lineup consists of seven starters hitting .300 or better. Nebraska outscored Kansas 24-14 in the series, but the Jayhawks proved their offensive ability by getting 27 hits against the Cornhuskers’ 29.

Junior outfielder Gus Milner continues to lead the way from the clean-up spot in the Kansas lineup. Milner is batting .357 and leads the team with nine doubles. He was one of only two Jayhawks to hit a home run against the Cornhuskers and collected three RBI in his first Big 12 series.

As Baty fills in for an injured Ryne Price at second base, freshman John Allman took the opportunity to play Baty’s spot in the outfield. Allman is currently hitting .391 and went 5-9 with two RBI in the Nebraska series.

Junior outfielder A.J. Van Slyke has had success at the plate, hitting .320 and leading the Jayhawks with 29 RBI.

“If we swing the bats as well as we did [against Nebraska] I think we are capable of going in there and winning two,” Price said.

On the mound, the Aggies can expect to face tonight’s scheduled starter Mike Zagurski. The senior left-hander (4-2) has a 4.21 ERA and struck out a team-high 62 batters this season.

In game one, junior right-hander Kodiak Quick (7-2) may see a couple of innings in relief. He is holding batters to a .251 average and has a 3.29 ERA. Junior right-handed closer Don Czyz (2-1) will most likely see significant time on the hill. In his 31 innings of relief this season, Czyz has a 2.32 ERA and 37 strikeouts. As a staff, the Kansas pitchers have a 3.87 ERA, just more than the Aggies’ 3.26.

With a 7-3 record at home, Texas A&M; faces a Kansas team coming off a 7-6 victory against Lamar. Compared to Kansas’ .313 team batting average, Texas A&M; is hitting just .278 as a club.

At the plate, the Aggies have been feeding off the momentum of senior outfielder Andrew Baldwin’s six-game hit streak. During the streak, Baldwin is hitting .583 and has eight RBI. His game-deciding solo home run in the seventh inning against Lamar was his second home run of the game and third of the season.

Junior shortstop Cliff Pennington, the best offensive starter, is hitting .398 and leads the Aggies in home runs (5) and RBI (25).

On the mound, the Jayhawks will likely face the Big 12’s co-pitcher of the week for week four, sophomore lefty Jason Meyer (5-1), who has a 3.35 ERA.

As the season enters the must-win conference stretch, Price said he knew what he expected from his team.

“We’re trying to win five of the nine series,” he said of the Big 12 schedule. “If we win five of nine during the course of the year, we’ll make the Big 12 tournament and most likely the NCAA tournament as well.”

The first pitch is at 7 p.m. at Olsen Field.

— Edited by Kendall Dix