Western Kentucky went into last week’s Conference USA Tournament with one player on its roster – senior Kathryn Downing – who’d played a postseason game for the Hilltoppers.

Then WKU’s young squad went to Hattiesburg, Miss., and played four contests, three of which went to extra innings. It took 10 innings Friday for eventual champ Louisiana Tech to outlast the Toppers, 1-0.

In all, WKU players gained four games and 38 innings worth of postseason experience. Now they’ll gain some more thanks to playing in the inaugural National Invitational Softball Championship.

The Hilltoppers will begin play in the NISC at noon Tuesday, taking on Alabama State in Atlanta in a game that’s part of the Georgia State regional.

Beat the Lady Hornets, and WKU will then face Kennesaw State at 3 p.m. Tuesday. If the Tops lose their first game Tuesday, they’ll go into the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament, with a game scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday.

“We got the news about midway through the year that this tournament was going to happen,” coach Amy Tudor said. “Fortunately for us, our administration said we could put in a bid to go. We were selected, so we’re looking forward to going for the first time ever.”

The NISC is attempting to serve as a softball version of basketball’s National Invitation Tournament. It gives teams that missed the NCAA Tournament a chance to play for a championship.

WKU qualified thanks to sporting an RPI in the Top 100 nationally, at No. 98. Alabama State, Georgia State, Kennesaw State and UT-Martin fill out the rest of the regional in Atlanta.

The Hilltoppers faced Georgia State twice at the beginning of this season at a tournament in Starkville, Miss. The Panthers won both matchups.

“It’s obviously really exciting, this being the first year of the (NISC),” senior catcher Taylor Proctor said. “It’s pretty cool, especially for the younger girls.

“I know this will be it for me but it gives them a few more games just to see a little bit more and maybe play some teams we haven’t gotten to play yet. I know we played Georgia State but the other three teams there, we haven’t played any of them. So it’ll be cool.”

Downing, who was on WKU’s 2015 C-USA championship team, was the only current Hilltopper to represent the school in a postseason tournament before last week.

Proctor, infielder Brittany Vaughn, utility player Jordan Mauch and outfielder Kara Brewer are all upperclassmen who joined the team before the 2016 campaign or before this season. The Toppers didn’t qualify for any postseason event, including the C-USA Tournament, last season.

The other 10 players on the roster are sophomores, redshirt freshmen or true freshmen. That group includes key players like sophomore infielder Rebekah Engelhardt, freshman infielder Adarian Gray and freshman pitcher Kelsey Aikey.

Downing and Proctor are the team’s only two seniors, meaning the core of the roster will return in 2017.

Non-seniors will “come back next year and everyone will have been in the conference tournament and then they’ll have gone to the postseason, which is something not a lot of teams can say,” Proctor said. “With them being as young as they’re going to be, it’s an awesome experience.”

The Hilltoppers are one of four C-USA teams to qualify for the postseason, with Louisiana Tech, Marshall and FIU all making the NCAAs.

Pacific, Weber State, Illinois State, Lamar, Georgia State and Liberty are all hosting midweek regionals. Each double-elimination regional concludes play Thursday.

The six-team Championship Round, also double elimination, will start Sunday and run to May 24 at a host site still to be determined.{&end}