The calendar may have just turned to April, but the fate of Kansas’ season may rest in Waco this weekend.

Tonight at 6:30 p.m. the Jayhawks begin their series with the Bears at Baylor Ballpark. A series victory for Kansas (19-13, 1-5) could catapult the Jayhawks from last place in the Big 12. But a series defeat to Baylor (16-11, 3-6) would mark Kansas’ third straight to begin conference play and might solidify its spot at the bottom of the league.

“We’ve got to find a way to win a series,” Kansas coach Ritch Price said. “Not go in, play close and keep it competitive – we’ve got to find a way to get it done. If we have a lead, finish a game.”

The key for Kansas, as usual, will be what kind of performances it gets from its starting pitching.

Last weekend, Kansas’ starters combined for 7.2 innings – 5.1 of which coming from junior left-hander Nick Czyz – stretching the Jayhawk bullpen to its limits. Sophomore left-hander Wally Marciel had the roughest outing of the bunch, lasing just 1/3 of an inning Friday, allowing eight runs and prompting Price to shuffle his weekend rotation.

Czyz (1-3) has moved up a day and will pitch tonight, senior right-hander Andres Esquibel (2-1) has reentered the rotation to pitch Saturday at 6:30 p.m., and junior left-hander Sam Freeman (4-0) will pitch the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.

While Czyz and Freeman have bloated 7.24 and 6.75 respective ERAs, Esquibel enters the weekend leading Kansas with a 2.68 ERA. Price has predominantly used Esquibel as his go-to arm in the bullpen, but after what happened last weekend, Price decided to sandwich his most reliable pitcher between Czyz and Freeman.

“He’s our best guy and the one thing it does, it depletes our bullpen,” Price said of Esquibel. “But I think at this point in time we’ve got to get three quality starts in order to have an opportunity to win a series and we had to make a change.”

As for Baylor’s rotation, the Bears are standing pat.

Sophomore right-hander Kendal Volz (3-2) will start tonight, freshman right-hander Shawn Tolleson (2-1) will start Saturday and sophomore right-hander Willie Kempf (4-1) will start Sunday. The trio own 5.40, 3.58 and 3.41 respective ERAs, but as a team, Baylor’s 4.72 ERA is just lower than Kansas’ 4.96 team ERA.

When Baylor coach Steve Smith turns to his bullpen, three arms in particular are his most dependable.

Senior right-hander Tim Matthews (1-0) leads the team with a 1.93 ERA, freshman right-hander Craig Fritsch (1-2) is next with a 2.49 ERA, and despite a 6.06 ERA, senior right-hander Nick Cassavechia (0-2) leads the team with five saves.

With so many arms at Smith’s disposal, Price knows his offense will be put to the test — especially since Kansas saw mostly changeups from Wichita State Tuesday and lesser velocity pitchers from Saint Mary Wednesday.

“Baylor pitches with plus velocity,” Price said. “They have some of the best arms in the country. They pitched the ball good against us last year. It’s the strength of their team.”

Baylor and Kansas currently reside eighth and tenth in the Big 12 standings, which is a bit surprising considering how each team entered the season. Baylor was ranked No. 15 in Baseball America’s preseason poll and even higher in other polls while Kansas returned a strong group of upperclassmen, including four experienced seniors.

But in the first few weekends of Big 12 action, both clubs’ seasons have turned sour. Since beating Oklahoma State, 2-1, to open its conference season, Baylor has dropped its last two Big 12 series while Kansas is still searching for its first conference series victory.

“We’re going to go play one of the best teams in the country,” Price said. “They opened the season in the Top 10 and they’re struggling right now. I think it’s really a testimony to how good the league is. It may be the best league in America, top to bottom. It’s certainly the best it’s been the six years I’ve been in the league.”

And Price’s players are well aware of how much this weekend means to their season.

“We’ve got to win the series,” senior infielder Matt Berner said. “We’ve got to win a series on the road, get us going in the right direction. It’s pretty much that simple.”

—Edited by Russell Davies