The baseball teams from Kansas University and South Dakota State each had a homecoming of sorts Wednesday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark.

The Jayhawks and three members of the SDSU coaching staff took to that field for the first time since the end of last season.

Seven of Kansas’ starters had at least one hit, and the Jayhawks came away with an 8-2 victory, proving they could play in blustery Midwest conditions after competing in nine road games in weather-friendly Hawaii and California.

“I think we’re fine physically, but we’ve got catching up to do at school,” said junior pitcher Kodiak Quick, who picked up his third victory of the season after giving up six hits, two runs and a walk and striking out four batters in seven innings.

Kansas (7-3) scored two runs in the first inning and three more in the second, mostly off of bloop singles and doubles laced down the left-field line.

SDSU’s Francisco Torres (0-1) took the loss after allowing eight hits, six earned runs and three walks in five innings.

Four KU players — Matt Baty, Jared Schweitzer, Gus Milner and Erik Morrison — had multihit outings in spite of some unorthodox deliveries from the South Dakota State pitching staff.

“Hopefully, that’s a trend for the next couple of weeks,” Schweitzer said.

KU coach Ritch Price said his team had to make a transition after taking a healthy dosage of fastballs from No. 6 Stanford last weekend.

Kansas University's Erik Morrison, left, is welcomed by Matt Baty after Morrison scored a run in the Jayhawks' 8-2 victory over South Dakota State. KU won its home opener Wednesday at Hoglund Ballpark.

“It was a hard day to be a hitter because of all the off-speed stuff they threw,” Price said. “It’s an adjustment we have to make, but it’s going to make us better hitters.”

One of the men behind the slow stuff was Reggie Christiansen, a former graduate-assistant coach under Price who left Lawrence for Brookings, S.D., to become the youngest coach in Division One. The Jackrabbits are playing their first year as a Division One program.

“I thought he did a nice job,” Price said about his pupil. “Obviously, he’s taking over a Division Two program. It’s his first year in Division One, and they don’t have real good arms, but they have a real good plan. They’re throwing a lot of off-speed pitches. … That’s the way they have to pitch to get guys out.”

Christiansen and assistants Pat Holmes and Chris Smart might have felt if as they were sitting in the wrong dugout, but as historic as the day may have been for the visiting Jackrabbits (0-1), Christiansen was determined not to make it a sentimental moment.

“We knew that there would be 56 games this year, and this just happened to be the first one,” Christiansen said. “I was proud of the way our guys came out here, but obviously we schedule games to win games.

“We’re just trying to make it a baseball trip and not to try to caught up in the emotion. They’re just one of the teams on the schedule.”

Price and Christiansen chatted Tuesday night, and then prepared for the game.

“We talked about it yesterday, and one of the things we talked about is I love the guy,” Price said. “He’s one of my favorite guys who’s ever worked for me in my career, and I’m really proud of him, and I’m proud of Pat and Chris … but at the same time, when the first pitch is thrown, my job is to beat their rear ends.

6Sports video: KU enjoys warm weather, hot bats in home opener

“We want him to turn the program around, and we’re proud of him, but this weekend we’re going to make sure he goes home with four losses.”

The series will continue today at 3 p.m., with Sean Land (0-1) scheduled to start for Kansas. The four-game series will conclude with a doubleheader Friday, starting at 2 p.m.