NAMPA, Idaho – At approximately 3:10 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time on April 30, 2017, the Northwest Nazarene University softball team's season came to an end.

Lisa Sylvester remembers getting a text message in a group conversation that said Western Oregon had defeated Central Washington to knock the Nighthawks out of postseason contention.

"It was just a big letdown," Sylvester said. "You work so hard in the season – all the waking up early, extra time you put in and it is a letdown to know you were that close."

Fellow senior Lily Paschal remembers getting SnapChats from teammates who were crying over the result.

"My whole chest just sank," she said. "It was so disappointing. Having your fate in someone else's hands is not a fate you want. One game changed our whole season."

Nine months later, the Nighthawks and their two seniors – Sylvester and Paschal – don't plan on letting any other schools decide whether they make the playoffs for the first time in program history.

"This year, we are making sure that doesn't happen again," Paschal said. "Every game counts and now we know that very well. We want to be in a position where it's in our hands."

That's a big shift from when the pair entered the program together in 2014-15.

Sylvester, a catcher and third baseman from Bend, Ore., and Paschal, an outfielder from Snohomish, Wash., joined a program that had only won 13 or more games three times in 13 years.

Their freshman year didn't start out much better as the Nighthawks finished 9-37, but the pair – along with some great recruiting classes – have slowly built NNU up into a solid program.

"My high school team went through the same process, so I already had some familiarity of building a program and being a part of that," Sylvester said. "It's just exciting to see the improvements, not just through yourself but the other players and the coaches.

"From my freshman year on, it has been a growing process for all of us."

During their sophomore season in 2016, NNU won 17 games which tied for the second-most in school history. And then last season they tied the school record in wins with 23.

"Every year we get told we have the potential and this year I think the potential needs to be reached," Paschal said. "From freshman year where it wasn't as competitive, it's really fun to see how many amazing athletes we have and how competitive we are now."

NNU was picked to finish third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference by the coaches in the preseason poll, but with 10 returning position players, two pitchers and nearly every major contributor back, the Nighthawks think the sky is the limit.

For both seniors, they are hoping not just to reach the playoffs for the first time or set the record for wins or even just finish with a winning record, but they also want to leave NNU softball in a different place than where they found it.

"Building the name for the program is really important," Paschal said. "How many different recruits are coming in. How far they come. How far our program is reaching. It is pretty cool to see and just experience all the cool transitions that come from turning into a more winning program."

Neither is that worried about individual legacies; rather they want to see the program take the next step.

"Building a foundation of the program more than leaving a legacy," Sylvester said of her goals. "Freshman year, it didn't seem like there was a good foundation. The softball atmosphere wasn't here. You didn't hear about softball around campus.

"We are here to win. We are competitive and we are here to play. I want to leave a foundation for future players that this is a serious program."