A pair of Lawrence natives are having a pretty spectacular spring while leading the Baker University baseball and softball programs to postseason success.

Ryan Goodwin, who graduated from Lawrence High in 1995, and Jamie Stanclift, who graduated from Free State High in 2005, recently coached their teams into the Baker history books with strong showings in the Heart of America Athletic Conference’s postseason tournament.

After winning a play-in game just to gain entry into the double-elimination bracket, the BU baseball team won the title by rumbling to four more victories, including Monday’s 16-3 pasting of Clarke University in Ozark, Mo.

Baker’s five wins in six days came by the combined score of 51-13.

“Nobody ever wants to be in the play-in game,” Goodwin said following a live stream of the title game on Monday. “But it’s not about who the best player is on every team, it’s about who has the best 25. And I would not trade our 25 for anybody. They played with great heart and chemistry. We talked all year about how we hadn’t clicked with defense, pitching, hitting and base running all in one game and we brought it all together down here.”

The tourney triumph earned the Wildcats (26-25) their first trip to the NAIA national tournament in 21 years.

Goodwin’s club received one of the conference’s two automatic bids to nationals and will find out its postseason fate Thursday as the Wildcats prepare to make a run at the NAIA World Series, slated for May 24-31 in Lewiston, Idaho.

Another Lawrence native, former Free State standout Cooper Karlin, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

In softball action a few days earlier, Stanclift’s squad rolled to its conference tourney title — the first in program history — by winning four consecutive games in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on the arm of ace pitcher Olivia Brees.

Brees, a senior who led the NAIA in strikeouts and recorded her 33rd victory of the season and 98th of her college career, led BU to a 3-1 win over Grand View in Saturday’s championship game.

Baker’s run included two tourney wins over Grand View, which BU played four times in a seven-day stretch last week.

Stanclift’s squad is now 45-7 overall this season and has earned an automatic bid to NAIA nationals, which will begin May 13-15.

The 40 qualifiers and pairings for opening-round action will be announced on the NAIA Facebook page at 3 p.m. Tuesday.