Kailua-Kona, Hawaii ? No trip to Hawaii would be complete without souvenirs for the folks back home.

Though it lost a series to Hawaii-Hilo for the first time in six tries, Kansas University’s baseball team did manage to bring something other than a nice tan back to Lawrence.

The Jayhawks followed a 4-3 loss in nine innings Sunday at Simmons’ Field in Kailua-Kona with a 16-4 victory Sunday, giving the team a warm send-off as it steels itself for a return to the wintry Midwest.

The Jayhawks opened their season with a 2-1 victory against the Vulcans on Friday, then proceeded to lose the next three games before finishing strong.

Just having friendly temperatures and new opposition represented progress, Jayhawk senior Joe Southers said.

“This was definitely a learning experience, getting outside and seeing live pitching,” Southers said. “It was important to get outside. We’d only gone outside once or twice and had a full practice once.”

Southers, who took over for catcher Buck Afenir in Game Two, took advantage of his final cuts in Hawaii.

The senior went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Preston Land had a three-run home run as Kansas did its damage in spurts, scoring eight times in the top of the fourth inning and six in the sixth.

Jayhawks coach Ritch Price used 13 pitchers during his team’s stay on the Big Island, with Paul Smyth making three appearances and Brett Bochy, Brett Bollman and Hiarali Garcia making two. Sam Freeman gave KU’s tired arms a break, allowing two runs on nine hits in six innings to get his first victory.

In Game One, UH-Hilo scrambled on top in dramatic fashion. In the bottom of the ninth, a dribbler down the left foul line eluded third baseman Tony Thompson, allowing Michael Higa to break for home and slide under Afenir’s tag for the winning run.

The Vulcans, who finished the weekend 4-4, improved to 3-2 in one-run games with the victory.

Higa said being in games that got away in previous years is a boon to the Vulcans’ confidence.

“(Winning one-run games) is building a lot of confidence in the players,” Higa said. “We would be down before, but knowing we can come back and hold the lead, the morale of the team is building. It’s nice to have confidence and faith in everybody.”

With departure time fast approaching, Kansas (2-3) split for Kona International Airport soon after the postgame handshakes finished. Southers said the Jayhawks, who will travel to Arkansas on Wednesday, can use quality practice time and Hawaii sunshine to lessen the sting of three defeats.

“(The weekend) was not that great. We came out with a losing record, but we made progress and saw where we need to improve,” Southers said. “We have to stick with our approach at the plate, but that comes with reps and seeing pitchers.

“It was great going swimming in the water and enjoying the weather. Any time you come here, it’s not a bad trip.”