OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – For just the second time in program history – but the second year in a row – the UBC Thunderbirds (27-21, 15-9) are headed to the NAIA Softball Championship Opening Round, having been selected as an at-large bid.
 
Heading down to Oklahoma to continue their postseason run, the T-Birds will be looking to bounce back after a tough weekend at the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament where they lost both of their games.
 
"I think we just played a little too nervous," reflected UBC head coach Jennifer McKellar. "We didn't go in there quite being ourselves, so we focused a lot this week on getting back to who we are and playing our game, and trusting that's going to be what's enough. And obviously the girls trained really hard as soon as we got the news, so it was a good week."
 

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The T-Birds will be one of 48 teams across 10 sites in the United States battling for a spot at the NAIA World Series. Playing in the Oklahoma City tournament, the Thunderbirds are the No. 4 seed for their pod and will face off against No. 5 seed Williams Baptist University (41-13, 17-1) in the tournament opener at 11:00 a.m. (PT) on Monday, May 11. The tournament runs until at least Wednesday, May 13, with the potential for a final game the following day.
 
The Lady Eagles are the regular season champions of the American Midwest Conference, but did struggle in their conference tournament where they dropped two of their three games to fall short of making it to the championship final.
 
Should the T-Birds defeat the Arkansas side, they will then face off against Oklahoma City University (47-7, 32-4) – the No. 5 ranked team in the entire NAIA and the hosts of UBC's Opening Round tournament – at 5:00 p.m. (PT) that same day. The Stars are the most decorated program in the NAIA having won 11 national championships all-time, more than double the next closest team.
 
The T-Birds do at least have some familiarity with the hosts, as the two teams played each other back at the beginning of February in a neutral site, nonconference game in Texas. That game remained 0-0 all the way into extra innings, when the Stars scored four runs in the top of the eighth to take the win.
 
"A lot of our preparation is layering what we can learn about new teams, through video and in the preseason, taking what we know about them and building that into our process," said McKellar on what the process is like when preparing to go up against unfamiliar opponents. "Not changing a whole lot, but making sure we are focused on what aspects of the game they may try and execute, so we're prepared."


 
If UBC loses their opening game, they stay alive as the tournament uses a double-elimination format. They would then play either the No. 2 seed (and No. 16 ranked team in the NAIA) Grand View Vikings (37-16, 20-8), or the No. 3 seed Blue Mountain Christian Toppers (38-15-1, 12-10) at 11:00 a.m. (PT) on Tuesday.
 
The Vikings tied for second in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, while the Toppers are making their first-ever appearance in the NAIA Opening Round after they finished the regular season in fourth place in the Southern States Athletic Conference.
 
After winning one of their three games in last season's NAIA Opening Round – the first time making it to the stage in team history – the blue and gold aim to take another step forward this year. It certainly won't be easy, but after earning three regular season wins against teams in the top five of the NAIA rankings, the T-Birds have shown that they can compete with anyone when playing at their best.


 
"They're so excited," added McKellar on her group's mindset. "Any chance to play and move on is a privilege, and one we're not going to take for granted. They're super excited, as is the coaching staff, and we're looking forward to this opportunity to compete and try and extend our season."
 
With CCC Pitcher of the Year Carleen Murray on the mound, and fellow conference All-Stars/Gold Glove winners Jessica Heutink, Brielle Donoghue and Kennedy Laird among those in the rest of the lineup, you can watch the Thunderbirds battle some of the best in the NAIA on the Urban Edge Network beginning on Monday.