Western Kentucky shortstop Brittany Vaughn hits an RBI double Sunday during the Lady Toppers’ 4-1 loss to Florida International at the WKU Softball Complex.

Western Kentucky’s been a tough out in its first two Conference USA Tournaments.

The Hilltoppers will appear in the event a third time this week. No. 8 seed WKU begins tournament play at 11 a.m. CDT on Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C., against No. 5 seed Marshall.

“Getting to conference is a great accomplishment of ours,” outfielder Kelsey McGuffin said Sunday. “It puts us in a position to win a conference championship. That’s our goal this year.”

The Toppers accomplished that goal in 2015, winning a C-USA championship behind the arm of star pitcher Miranda Kramer. WKU went 3-0 that week in Miami, winning the title game 3-1 over Florida Atlantic.

After missing the event in 2016, the Hilltoppers went back to the C-USA Tournament last season.

They won two extra-inning games during the first day of the 2017 tournament in Hattiesburg, Miss., to advance into the double-elimination stage. WKU didn’t bow out until a 10-inning, 1-0 loss to Louisiana Tech.

Many of the women who made that 2017 tournament run are back this season looking to do the same.

“Conference play is a whole different animal,” the junior McGuffin said. “That was seen in our play last year. We were headstrong and went right up against our opponents. I think we’re in a great position this year.”

This year’s WKU squad punched its ticket into the tournament with a 1-0 win Sunday over Florida International. Kelsey Aikey pitched a shutout while McGuffin drove in the game’s only run.

That victory got the Tops (27-25 overall, 10-13 C-USA) the very last spot in the eight-team field.

WKU starts its tournament Wednesday by facing Marshall (25-28-1, 13-9-1) in a single-elimination matchup. The Hilltoppers took two of three from the Thundering Herd last month in a home series.

If WKU gets by Marshall, it’ll turn around and face No. 4 seed Louisiana Tech at 4 p.m. CDT in another single-elimination battle. The Toppers and Bulldogs (33-21, 15-9) didn’t meet this season.

Both those games will be streamed online by Conference USA’s YouTube channel.

If WKU can win those two games Wednesday, it’ll advance into the double-elimination portion of the bracket, which begins Thursday. The tournament remains double-elimination until the final two teams are determined.

Those final two squads will then meet Saturday in the single-elimination championship final with the winner earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

WKU last appeared in the NCAAs after it won the C-USA title in 2015.

The Hilltoppers will try to return this year behind the pitching of Aikey (3.21 ERA) and the offense of Jordan Thomas (.462 on-base percentage), Brittany Vaughn (seven home runs, 37 RBI) and others.

“I think once you get to the tournament it’s anybody’s game,” WKU coach Amy Tudor said. “We’re going to be prepared and have a good game plan and obviously we have to go execute that game plan.

“It’s up in the air this year and we respect all our opponents but we’re going to give it all we’ve got.”