With three weeks remaining in the regular season, Oklahoma State sits atop the Big 12 Baseball standings.

The Cowboys (13-5) exit conference play for a weekend series with Southeast Missouri, but other Big 12 series will be ongoing this weekend. Here's a look at what to look for in the stretch run and what OSU needs to happen in order to maintain their status and win the league.

After this weekend, the Cowboys close out conference play by hosting Texas Tech and traveling to Baylor on consecutive weekends.

TCU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and West Virginia all have a mathematical shot at catching OSU in the league race. TCU and Tech, like the Cowboys, have two remaining Big 12 series, while OU and WVU both play in-conference the next three weekends.

The Horned Frogs, currently second in the standings with a 12-6 record, a full game back from OSU. TCU does own a head-to-head tiebreaker over OSU, so that full game lead is huge. As is the series with Tech (11-7, 3rd) in Stillwater.

TCU hosts Oklahoma (9-6, t4th) this weekend and then travels to Big 12 basement dweller Kansas (3-12, 9th) the following weekend.

Texas Tech is idle this weekend for finals. The Red Raiders travel to Stillwater next weekend and then close out Big 12 play by hosting Oklahoma.

Given the above, the Sooners will likely have a major impact on the final top-half of the league standings. In between the TCU and Tech series, OU will host West Virginia, who they are currently tied with at 9-6 for fourth in the league.

With two (OSU and Tech) of the top three teams in the league standings either out of conference or idle this weekend, the stretch run likely won't become crystal clear. It will add clarity, though.

For the Cowboys, the math is simple - put together sweeps of Tech and at Baylor like they did over Texas last weekend and they will win the league. Dropping a game or two in those series could open the door for TCU or Texas Tech, and possibly OU or West Virginia. OSU does hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over the latter two, it's worth noting.

For this weekend's action, the series to focus on is TCU in Norman and Texas (9-9, 6th) travelling to West Virginia. From the Oklahoma State perspective, OU and Texas taking series wins in those are probably the ideal scenario while the Cowboys are out-of-conference.

Looking ahead to next weekend's action, Tech in Stillwater is clearly the series that will have the most influence on the final Big 12 standings. The Cowboys are in the driver's seat and control their own destiny. A little outside help this weekend could provide some breathing room as the regular season hits the stretch run in Big 12 play.