KU to host Super Regional later this week at Hoglund Ballpark!

When Kansas baseball coach Dan Fitzgerald addressed the Hoglund Ballpark crowd after Sunday's regional-championship-clinching win over Arkansas, he told the KU faithful that the Jayhawks were going to need them again next weekend.

What did Fitzgerald know?

A little less than 24 hours later, Oklahoma's 8-7, 10-inning walk-off win over No. 2 overall seed Georgia Tech set the stage for the Jayhawks (45-16, No. 15 overall) to host OU (36-22, no national seed) during this week's Super Regional at their home field.

Former Kansas catcher Shane Wedd, who gave his heart and soul to the program he grew up loving from 1996-2000, called the OU walk-off in a text thread with friends when the game went to the 9th inning.

More from Sunday's victory...

• Jayhawks clinch regional title

• Dariel Osoria delivered in more ways than one

• Ballinger born to be in The Backyard

• A generational joining of hands

• Box Score

It will mark the Jayhawks' first appearance in a Super Regional, which became a part of college baseball's postseason format in 1999. And it figures to bring a whole new dose of energy and electricity to Lawrence for what promises to be one of the biggest weekends of the year.

The exact schedule will be determined after all of the regionals go final on Monday. The dates, times and broadcast information for all eight Super Regionals will be released on Tuesday morning at approximately 9 a.m. (central) via press release and on the NCAA's social media channels.

The KU-OU series will be played over the weekend, either Friday, Saturday and Sunday or Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

This much is known:

• KU will host the best 2-of-3 series against their old Big 12/Big Eight friends

• Hoglund Ballpark will be absolutely buzzing

• And the winner will go to the College World Series, June 12-21/22, in Omaha, Nebraska

Last week, when the Jayhawks were announced as one of the 16 national hosts for the regional round, KU AD Travis Goff talked about the temporary updates made to accommodate a larger crowd than the regular 2,500-fan capacity at Hoglund Ballpark.

KU created The Backyard beyond the left field fence, added a new standing-room-only area down the left-field line and created more breathing room around the ballpark for food trucks, restrooms and other fan amenities, while also opening The Crimson Club inside Allen Fieldhouse for fans to watch the action on TV.

The efforts resulted in record-setting crowds of 3,571 fans for KU's first win, 4,042 for KU's second victory on Saturday and 4,007 more for Sunday's clincher.

Asked what they might do if they were fortunate enough to host a Super Regional, which, at the time, seemed like a bit of a long shot, Goff said they would treat the regional round as a learning experience and do everything they can to add even more seating for the Super Regional.

"I think we'll learn some things, obviously, this weekend that will give us a chance to sharpen and then think bigger and bolder about, you know, a more permanent future state for Hoglund," Goff said, not knowing at the time that they'd have some more temporary needs to address first.

He joked that if that meant adding even just 58 more seats for the next round, KU would do whatever it could to accommodate as many fans as possible.

Last weekend's regional was historic, as KU hosted one for the first time and reached its first ever Super Regional in the process.

Now, a whole new series of firsts await the Jayhawks, who will be looking to join the 1993 team as the only KU clubs to reach the College World Series in school history.

We'll be there every step of the way to cover the fun.

— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com