NAMPA, Idaho – When the Northwest Nazarene softball program launched in 2002 it had a bit of a Wild West feel to it.

Nearly all of the equipment used was provided by coach Duane Miller. Half the players were just students attending the school who had played in high school. There were no scholarships. They practiced at a local park and in the school's pool and racquetball courts. They played their games at Skyview High School. The school president at the time — Dr. Richard Hagood — even used personal money to buy bats and balls to help the underfunded program.

"It was difficult," Miller said. "There was hardly any money and it was a tough beginning for sure. When I was there we never won a conference game and we had very little money to entice players."

On top of all the difficulties, the Nighthawks (then Crusaders) lost. A lot.

They went 0-47 in their first two years of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, winning just seven games overall.

"We didn't have much in terms of scholarships so we had a lot of walk-ons," said Falen LeBlanc, who played on the first team in 2002. "We lost a lot and it built a lot of character, but we improved each season. There were a lot of steps forward, even in the very beginning."
 

To think that a program that is just 16 years old is now playing in the NCAA Division II National Tournament is almost unbelievable to the players and coaches who helped launch it.

"It's crazy to think how much it has grown," said Meghan Wonderlich, who played on the club team in 2001 and the varsity team in 2002 and 2003. "I think it is really exciting to see the dedication that has been put into it. When you start a program, you never know what the backing and the support will be.

"I have been excited to watch it grow. It takes time for a program to grow and Idaho is still catching up to neighboring states and the national scene. It's awesome to think it has come that far, both for the girls and NNU."

The program began because the school wanted to balance out its offering of men's and women's sports and softball seemed like a natural fit.

NNU also was committed to joining the GNAC as a full member and trying to help the conference prosper, so it wanted to have a bigger array of sports.

"I think it was a good addition," said Dr. Hagood, who retired as school president in 2008. "It certainly has gotten some favor with an excellent facility that we have. That is a first-class facility and you certainly take some pride in (helping launch the program)."
 

The losing was difficult, though. For a lot of the players who had been used to success in travel ball or high school, getting beat all the time by more established programs was tough.

"I had my times of struggle," said Adrian Herman, who played for NNU from 2003-06. "I went from all my life being on competitive teams to being on a losing team. That was really hard for me. It became a bit more of an individual mindset, like 'I want to only give up a certain amount of runs,' or 'I want to get a certain amount of hits.' It was less about winning and more about the little challenges."

As the program started to grow and added the on-campus field, which now sports brand-new hard-backed chairs that were installed last summer, winning came along with it.

Miller resigned and moved to California and Julie Coert took over. NNU won 10 games in 2004, 12 in 2005 and peaked at 23-28 in 2006.

That was the most wins the program had until the Nighthawks went 23-27 in 2017 under coach Rich Wagner, who took over the program in 2013.

"Starting a new program at the Division II level is pretty challenging," said Rich Sanders, who was the athletic director from 2003 to 2012. "We started bare bones and it wasn't funded very well, so it was a struggle.

"Starting something from scratch recruiting wise is tough. You have no history. No past. Nothing to build on. So those kids were coming in brand new, just taking a chance."

Despite the lumps they took, the players felt that all the hard work was worth it.

Wonderlich now is a principal at Jefferson Middle School in Caldwell. LeBlanc is a social worker in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Herman is a middle school math teacher in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"My experience overall was very positive," Herman said. "The softball part was a hard road, but the overall feel of NNU sports all around and the positive relationships on my team, it was a good experience.

"I think I was able to stay because I had good friends and felt they were positive friendships. It was something I was thankful for."
 

Herman's teammate LeBlanc agreed.

"It ended up amazing for me long term," LeBlanc said. "I did my undergraduate and masters at NNU. Everything had a purpose and played out the way it was supposed to."

LeBlanc and Wonderlich went into coaching after graduating college, helping to grow the game in the Treasure Valley.

"The dedication to the NNU program and of College of Idaho has really impacted softball in the Valley," Wonderlich said. "It is coming up to speed with the rest of the nation."

And now the Nighthawks are as well.

This year, NNU set records for wins in a season (31), conference wins in a season (19), won its first conference regular-season title, first conference tournament title, earned its first postseason berth and now its first national tournament berth.

NNU faces top seed Chico State (50-3) at 3:30 p.m. MDT on Thursday in Chico, Calif. in the first round of the national tournament.

"I knew eventually it would get there," LeBlanc said. "I'm shocked that it happened so soon. It is super exciting."

And it all started with a rag-tag group of players, a passionate coach, a city park field and a whole lot of work.