As cloudy skies eventually gave way to a sunny finish on Saturday, Manhattan High baseball mirrored the weather by splitting its CiCo Park debut doubleheader against Olathe Northwest.

The Indians program began in 1989, and from their inaugural season through 1996, they played the lion’s share of their games at CiCo. Then, in 1997, with then first-year head coach Donn Hess, Manhattan baseball moved to Norvell Field at Eisenhower Middle School, where they played until now.

“We’ve always been thankful no matter where we’ve played,” Hess said. “Eisenhower has been my home as a head coach since the first game played there, so that’s always been home to me.

“Obviously, anybody that drives by notices that this is a beautiful complex, and it’s something the city and our community should be very proud of. It’s just been a blast to be here and see all of the young kids walking around the complex getting ready for games. The city did well on this one.”

In the opener, Manhattan (4-2) suffered a 6-1 loss, falling behind in the first inning as the Ravens (6-3) plated three runs early on a Manhattan defensive miscue. Olathe Northwest added a pair across the fourth and fifth innings to extend the lead to 5-0.

Manhattan’s Easton Duff took the mound for the opener, finishing with five innings of four-hit baseball. The junior struck out three while allowing one earned run and one walk. Brock Kelly finished the game, allowing two hits and a run over the final two innings.

Offensively, Manhattan plated its lone run in the bottom of the seventh to avoid the shutout. Duff and Asher Newton led the way with a pair of hits, including an RBI single for Newton. The Indians finished with seven hits and two errors.

In Game 2, Manhattan flipped the script by jumping on the Ravens early with a 5-0 start, eventually leading to a 9-3 win.

“Olathe Northwest deserved to win that first game, but we needed to show up and compete a little bit harder than we did,” Hess said. “The second game, having five runs to start the game obviously takes some of the pressure off, and everybody relaxes and concentrates on doing their job.”

In the first inning, the Indians kept the line moving as four walks and two singles preceded a two-RBI single by Zach Conley, capping the five-run frame for Manhattan.

The Ravens got one back in the top of the second but only briefly cut into the deficit, as a Brayson Gnirk RBI double in the bottom half pushed the Manhattan lead to 6-1. In the fourth, Mclain Aslin added an RBI triple to extend the lead.

Olathe Northwest plated a pair in the fifth inning, ending Jack Keogh’s outing after 4 2/3 innings. He finished with three runs allowed on nine hits, two walks and two strikeouts. Liam Nider and Kelly closed out the game, holding the Ravens hitless over the final two frames.

“We haven’t really had a chance to dig deep into our depth on the mound, so today was our first opportunity to see a couple of these guys throw,” Hess said. “It was impressive. There’s always going to be things you work on, but we have some young pitchers and they gave us a chance to win.”

Kelly added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth, delivering a two-RBI single to extend the lead to its final margin. Manhattan finished with 10 hits and nine walks, led by Conley’s three hits and two RBIs, while Jackson Goos went 2-for-3 with three runs scored.

As a whole, Hess said the Indians are still looking to establish their identity this season after a fourth-place state finish last year. One constant has been the Newton brothers batting first and second while anchoring the middle infield defensively.

“We have some guys that are playing new positions,” he said. “I still think that Sawyer Newton is arguably the best shortstop in the state of Kansas. I think he can do things that very few people can. We’re a work in progress, but I think we’re going to be okay in the end.”

Manhattan continues its homestand on Tuesday, hosting league rival Junction City in a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m.