Friday

Game 1

Kansas 2, Hawaii-Hilo 1

Win – Wally Marciel (1-0)

Loss – Clayton Uyechi (0-1)

Save – Paul Smyth (1)

After spending the preseason almost exclusively indoors, Kansas showed signs of rust against a Hawaii-Hilo squad that opened its season the week before. However, strong pitching by the Jayhawks left the door open for the Kansas offense to claim the lead.

Hawaii native Wally Marciel got the start for Kansas and didn’t disappoint family and friends who witnessed his homecoming. The lefty pitched six innings, allowed only one run on five hits and a walk, and stuck out four. Before he left the game, though, his offense gave him just enough support to earn the victory.

With two out and right fielder Ryne Price on first, catcher Buck Afenir singled to center field, sending Price home to break the 1-1 tie. With its first lead of the game, the Kansas pitching staff sealed the deal.

Right-hander Brett Bollman took the ball in the seventh and struck out the side in order. Right-hander Hiarali Garcia followed threw a scoreless inning of his own in the eighth. Closer Paul Smyth entered in the ninth, converting his first save opportunity of the season, but not without making it interesting.

Dayne Ogawa led off the ninth for Hawaii-Hilo and was plunked by a Smyth pitch. A passed ball ushered Ogawa into scoring position and a sacrifice bunt sent him to third base. Smyth settled down thereafter inducing a line out and ground out to end the game.

Offensively, Kansas was stifled most of the game by Hawaii-Hilo’s Clayton Uyechi and Emil DeAndreis, but a couple Jayhawks broke through. Afenir and third baseman Tony Thompson led the team in hits, each going 2-for-4. Price went 1-for-2 with two walks and drove in Kansas’ first run of the game. Center fielder Nick Faunce collected Kansas’ only other hit of the game, going 1-for-3.

Saturday

Game 2

Kansas 3, Hawaii-Hilo 4

(8 innings)

Win – Dustin Gilmore (1-0)

Loss – Brett Bollman (0-1)

Game 3

Kansas 4, Hawaii-Hilo 12

Win – Joe Davis (1-1)

Loss – Nick Czyz (0-1)

On Saturday, Kansas struggled in all areas of its game – pitching, defense and offense – en route to losing both ends of its doubleheader with Hawaii-Hilo.

In game one, Kansas struck first on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Preston Land that drove in center fielder Nick Faunce in the first inning. However, the lead was short-lived. Hawaii-Hilo’s Peter Rodgers, Dayne Ogawa, Keoni Manago and Ronel Trias led off the bottom of the second with consecutive doubles off Kansas left-hander Shaeffer Hall to assume the lead, 3-1

Kansas crawled back into contention with a run in the fifth and sixth innings to tie the game. Land again came through in the fifth with a double, plating Faunce. After reaching on a double in the sixth, Kansas catcher Buck Afenir scored the tying run on an infield error.

As part of a doubleheader, game one was scheduled to go seven innings, but with the score still tied, the teams went to extra innings. The Vulcans didn’t let the Jayhawks hang around for long, though. With two on and two out, Kansas closer Paul Smyth entered the game looking to squelch Hawaii-Hilo’s rally. Instead, Smyth committed an error, allowing the game-winning run to score.

While game one went into extras, for all intents and purposes, game two was over in five.

Through four innings, Kansas left-hander Nick Czyz was rolling, with three strikeouts and only one run surrendered. The Kansas offense was still sputtering, but it still held the lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.

The Jayhawks took the lead with a two-run fourth inning. Ryne Price, stepping in at catcher for game two, led off the inning with a walk and promptly stole second. Price eventually scored on a sacrifice bunt by third baseman Matt Berner while shortstop Erik Morrison advanced to second. A single by first baseman Justin Ellrich drove Morrison home for the final run Kansas would score for the game.

In the bottom of the fifth, the wheels fell off for Czyz. After letting two of the first three batters he faced reached base, Czyz fought back to get a second out with no harm done. However, he couldn’t nail down a third. After walking the bases loaded, he walked home the tying run. He’d be charged with four more runs before the inning ended. Right-hander T.J. Walz entered the game for Kansas, but he couldn’t put out the flames. By the end of the inning, Hawaii-Hilo held a commanding 8-2 lead that it never lost.

Overall, Kansas was outscored 16-7 and outhit 23-12 while committing five errors in the double deuce.

Sunday

Game 4

Kansas 3, Hawaii-Hilo 4

(9 innings)

Win – Emil DeAndreis (1-0)

Loss – Paul Smyth (0-1)

The error bug struck Kansas again in game one of Sunday’s doubleheader as the Jayhawks dropped their second extra innings match of the weekend and the series.

An error by Kansas second baseman Robby Price in the bottom of the third allowed Hawaii-Hilo to rally for the first runs of the game. With two outs, Rodgers singled and Dayne Ogawa doubled off Kansas right-hander Andres Esquibel with runners on to take a 2-0 lead.

Kansas retaliated with a two-out rally of its own in the top of the fourth. First baseman Preston Land got the rally started with a single to left field. Then defensive woes struck Hawaii-Hilo as an error allowed right fielder Ryne Price to reach base. A single by shortstop Erik Morrison put Kansas’ first run on the board and catcher Buck

Afenir followed with a two-run single to flip the advantage in the Jayhawks’ favor, 3-2.

But, once again, closer Paul Smyth struggled in relief. Smyth entered with a man on and one out and a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth, only to let the Vulcans knot the game at 3-3 on a two-out single by Thomas Brown.

The score held at threes until the bottom of the ninth. With Smyth still on the mound, Vulcan Michael Higa singled with one out and advanced to second on an Alvis Satele ground out. Higa wasn’t on second long as an error by Kansas third baseman Tony Thompson on a ball hit by Rodgers gave Higa the green light to take home and clinch the series.