Frigid temperatures and the possibility of snow forced the Northwestern baseball team to cancel its trip to Kansas this weekend.

The Wildcats were scheduled to play a three-game series with the Jayhawks beginning today. The games will not be rescheduled.

NU had looked at the trip as a chance to improve its 2-5 record in early nonconference play.

The Cats will also miss an opportunity to hand the Jayhawks their first defeat of the season. At 8-0, Kansas is ranked No. 33 in the country by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

“Obviously, we’re a little bit disappointed,” NU head coach Paul Stevens said of the cancellation.

The Cats showed signs of improvement last weekend at New Mexico, despite losing two of three games. Stevens had hoped the team’s progress would continue in Kansas.

“The bottom line is we need to play as often as we can right now,” he said. “On the other side of the ledger, it gives us a chance to work on some things.

“We’re going to concentrate on different phases of pitching, and we’ll work on the little things – fielding, pick plays, bunts and baserunning.”

Pitching and defense were both problems for the Cats in New Mexico. NU hurlers gave up a total of 40 runs in the three contests, and three errors hurt the Cats in a 19-7 loss Sunday.

“We’ll just anticipate going out next week,” Stevens said. “The journey is continuing. It just hit one of those road detours.”

NU returns to competition March 8-10 at St. Louis.