New faces, but the same place for the Western Kentucky softball team heading into the Conference USA Tournament.

WKU was the No. 2 seed in last year’s tournament – with an experienced squad that made it to the finals unscathed before a heartbreaking nine-inning loss to Liberty in the championship game. A much younger roster is back – entering again as the two seed, but this time a little more optimistic. WKU opens at noon on Thursday against either Jacksonville State or Sam Houston.

The Hilltoppers come in playing the best softball of the season and get the added caveat of hosting the tournament this season.

WKU (29-19-1 overall, 14-10-1 CUSA) started 2-6 in conference play, but went 7-0-1 the final three weekends including two wins against Jacksonville State this weekend that clinched the two seed.

Sophomore pitcher Rylan Smith said the team set goals before the New Mexico State series, figuring a path that led them to that second seed and a first-round bye in the tournament.

“We mapped it out and we said, ‘All right we need to win six out of these next nine games,’ ” Smith said. “I think that’s where it started, so FIU was continuing on from New Mexico State and building off that. Everyone just went out and played with so much confidence and so much grit. I think that we will be a really hard team to beat.”

WKU coach Amy Tudor said her team handled the rough start and has turned it around in positive fashion.

“It’s hard to start off that way, especially when you are used to winning,” Tudor said. “We tried to handle this a little differently than we did last year. I give my staff a lot of credit as well – all the time they put in and coming up with solutions to try to help them achieve success. The girls deserve all the credit.”

Smith said the rough start – which included two decisive home losses to Liberty – made the team more determined.

“We really had to get knocked down for a little bit to learn what it takes to put ourselves into the second seed,” Smith said. “I think just learning and trusting that we can do it, because in reality if we don’t go 7-0-1 these past three weeks if we don’t all believe that we can do it.”

Now WKU has its sights set on a return trip to the title game, but the path won’t be easy. The second- through sixth-place teams were all bunched together by three games in the loss column – with top seed Liberty emerging as the prohibitive favorite with a 23-3 record in conference, 44-11 overall.

“Tournament time it is anybody’s game,” Tudor said. “It’s your third season. You are starting over. I would say there is parity throughout the country, so that is pretty common. Obviously you see it with Conference USA – except for the wide spread of Liberty at the top. They are the people to knock off at the top.”

Tudor added her team is playing the best ball of the season at the right time.

“It felt like the second half of April we played really good softball,” Tudor said. “From the circle has probably been the biggest change. Erica (Houge) and Rylan have really stepped up. I feel like our hitters have stepped up our game a little bit too. We’ve played some quality defense. We were challenged and they rose to the occasion.

“We’ve been in quite a few championship games, sometimes on the good side and sometimes on the not so fun side. It’s great if you get a chance to compete for a championship. I think it teaches you a lot. You remember those games and when you are able to close the door it is even better.”

WKU would like nothing more than to be able to shut the door this season after last year’s disappointment. Doing it at home would make it even sweeter.

“Having that home-field advantage is great for us,” sophomore outfielder Kendle White said. “We are a young team. We are feisty and we are gritty. I think the ability to play these games at home will be key for us.”

Masters, Houge receive conference honors

Maci Masters earned CUSA All-Conference second team and Erica Houge earned CUSA All-Freshman team recognition, the league announced on Tuesday.

Masters started all 49 games this season, leading WKU in home runs with 14 – three shy of the program – while adding a team-leading 45 RBIs.

She is second on the team in hits (46) while leading in slugging percentage (.674) and OPS (1.109).

Houge finished the regular season with a 10-9 record across 36 appearances and 14 total starts. She had a team-best 3.10 ERA, highlighted by a two-hit shutout against Louisville on April 22.

Houge has also proven to be one of the best in tight situations as the freshman has accumulated a conference-leading five saves. In addition to her saves, Houge’s .240 batting average against ranks seventh in the conference.