At a school like Kansas, where the emphasis will always be on the school’s historic basketball legacy, other sports can sometimes be dwarfed by some of the figures that have walked across Allen Fieldhouse.
Under head coach Dan Fitzgerald, not only has the Kansas baseball program generated record attendance over the last two days, with crowds peaking at 4,042 fans on Saturday, but the energy the Kansas faithful are bringing has been spoken of highly by players and staff alike.
“The crowd played a big part today,” quoted KU star Tyson LeBlanc postgame. LeBlanc posted his 23rd homer of the season in Kansas’ second regional matchup of the weekend, a 5-3 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks.
“…That atmosphere was insane. That’s one of the best atmospheres I've ever played in front of. Obviously, we come out tomorrow to compete for the Regional Championships, so we need them out there behind us first inning through the ninth inning.”
Closing pitcher Boede Rahe was quoted, “Yeah, the crowd environment is crazy. So we have pitch comms in our hats. And usually, I'd say I'm at, like, a volume 11, and before I went out there, I put it up to 17. So that says enough about the crowd that we had there.”
Kansas’ stellar home record proves they are more than deserving of electric homefield advantage
The Jayhawks currently hold a 20-5 record at Hoglund Ballpark, most recently including the aforementioned 5-3 win over Arkansas and a 6-3 region-opening win over Northeastern on Friday.
So far at home, the Jayhawks have taken series against St. Thomas, Houston, Utah, No. 12 UCF and Arizona, with individual wins against Missouri, Sacramento State, Wichita State and No. 20 Nebraska.
With losses few and far between, Fitzgerald and Co. have only fallen to St. Thomas, Sacramento State, and a sweep against No. 15 West Virginia at home, Kansas’ penultimate series of the regular season, which took place just before the Jayhawks clinched their first regular-season conference title in 77 years.
All of the Jayhawks’ latest momentum has been spurred on by Kansas Athletics’ latest renovations to prepare for Kansas’ hosting, which have added 60% more capacity to Hoglund, creating the fan-favorite ‘Backyard,’ which was added beyond left field. Kansas also moved the visiting bullpen to open up a reserved standing-room-only section for the fans.
Kansas is one win away from newest milestone
If all goes to plan, the Jayhawks can book a ticket to their first-ever Super Regional on Sunday night.
Thanks to an unblemished record through the region so far, KU will take on the winner of the Arkansas/Northeastern matchup later Sunday. Northeastern dismantled Missouri State Saturday afternoon in what turned into a 5-1 loss at the hands of the Huskies, and Arkansas’ 9-5 win over Missouri State on Friday, gave enough cushion to guarantee them at least one more game this weekend.
While Kansas’ opponent is yet to be confirmed, as of publishing, the Jayhawks are set to see first pitch at 5 p.m. CT.
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