The Kauai Kine had just defeated the Oklahoma Mirage, but that didn’t keep the Mirage players from asking for some lessons after the game.

Kauai Kine infielders Chyna Halbert, top, and Shana Tafiti, bottom, attempt to tag out a Rockers' base-runner during the first inning.

But this wasn’t about softball – not about fielding, throwing or even hitting.

The Oklahomans wanted to learn more about hula dancing.

Kine coach Darrell Borrero said it wasn’t the first time his team, which made the trek to Lawrence from Hawaii for this weekend’s AFA B National Fastpitch Tournament, had been asked to show off its dancing skills.

“A lot of people ask us if they can learn to hula,” Borrero said. “Also, it’s funny, because they ask if we drove or if we flew.”

With 4,000 miles and an ocean separating Kauai from Lawrence, the Kine endured three flights and 12 straight hours of traveling before arriving in Kansas.

The players, though, will tell you it was worth it.

“We never really get to experience the mainland, so we wanted to experience a whole new place,” Kine player Kanoe Carveiro said. “This is the farthest I’ve ever been.”

Kauai's Kanani Mata, left, sprays Jocelyn Enrique with water in the dugout before their game against the Rockers.

The team is mostly made up of softball players from the three schools in Kauai, an island with a total area roughly half that of Rhode Island.

Because it was an all-star team, consisting of players from different teams, not much was expected of the Kine during their first trip to nationals.

“At first, some people on Kauai thought we wouldn’t do that good,” Kine player Jocy Enrique said. “We were kind of like a throw-together team, so we didn’t expect to come up here and win.”

But win they did Thursday morning, defeating the Mirage, 4-3, for their first victory of the tournament.

Borrero said his team had experienced much of the same hospitality in Lawrence that he had become accustomed to in his homeland.

Kauai Kine players, from left, Wailana Borrero, Sam Koga and Jocy Enrique walk past a corn field after warmups. The Kine, who are playing their first tournament on the United States mainland, won their first game at the AFA B National Fastpitch Tournament on Thursday at the Youth Sports Inc. fields.

“In Hawaii, we say the word, ‘Aloha.’ Aloha means everything – hello, good-bye, welcome and kind spirit,” Borrero said. “To me, over here is the same thing as Hawaii. Everybody’s kind.”

The biggest adjustment for the Kine might have been the Kansas heat and humidity, with temperatures again nearly reaching triple digits Thursday.

“It’s way hotter over here. The wind is even hot,” Enrique said. “Hawaii is hot, but we have the breeze from the ocean.”

Carveiro said she was surprised by the activity in Kansas.

“There’s not as many people on Kauai,” Carveiro said. “It’s busy over here. There are more things to do.”

The team had to adjust to the scenery in Kansas and also to the cuisine. The 14-year-old Lawrence Phenix team held a barbecue for the Kine earlier in the week to help welcome them to Lawrence.

Borrero said it was a trip that his team would not forget soon.

“We’re just soaking up everything,” Borrero said. “We’re so grateful for the experience.”