For the University of Maine, earning a spot in this year’s NCAA Division I Softball Tournament is a rare and much-celebrated occasion.

At the University of California, competing in the NCAAs is more of a tradition.

Cal, which meets UMaine Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in an eight-team, double-elimination regional at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, is a bona fide national power.

Coach Diane Ninemire’s Bears are 49-20 and ranked No. 2 in the country in the latest USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I poll. Cal is making its 19th consecutive NCAA appearance, its 17th straight under Ninemire.

The Bears have earned seven trips to the Women’s College World Series and won a national championship in 2002. Cal was the national runner-up to UCLA last season.

“We played the last two weeks exceptionally strong and haven’t looked back,” said Ninemire, whose team has won eight straight and finished tied for second place in the powerhouse Pacific-10 Conference.

“You have to play your best game no matter what,” she added. “We just have to continue playing the way we have been the past two weeks.”

Cal features talent in the circle. Sophomore righthander Kristina Thorson is 23-3 with a sparkling 0.88 earned run average and 182 strikeouts in 182 1/3 innings. Opponents are batting only .160 against her.

Junior righty Kelly Anderson is 23-8 with a 1.39 ERA and 142 strikeouts. The Bears have allowed more than four runs only four times this season.

Cal checks in with a healthy .291 team batting average and features a blend of speed and power. Leadoff hitter Vicky Galindo, a sophomore third baseman, leads the squad with a .363 average, 70 hits, 46 runs scored, and 23 stolen bases.

Left fielder Lindsay James, a sophomore, bats second (.356, 17 RBIs, 21 SBs), while junior shortstop Chelsea Spencer (.352, 8 HR, 33 RBI, 17 SB) is the sixth batter in the order. Junior Kaleo Eldredge, a junior center fielder, is the cleanup hitter at .349 with seven homers, 28 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases.

One of the Bears’ most dangerous hitters is sophomore catcher Haley Woods. She has cranked a team-high 16 home runs and leads the squad with 56 runs batted in. In all, Cal has hit 43 home runs while averaging 4.7 runs per contest.

Defensively, Cal has committed 49 errors in 57 games and is fielding at .971.