RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech Golden Suns take part in the Arkansas-Monticello DII Softball Challenge in Bentonville this weekend with four games beginning on Friday morning. All four games will be played at Memorial Park in Bentonville.
 
No. 11 Arkansas Tech (3-1) opens the weekend against Northwest Missouri on Friday at 11 a.m. before taking on Pittsburg State at 2 p.m. On Saturday, Tech battles No. 22 Missouri-St. Louis at 10 a.m. and Missouri Western at 1 p.m. Live stats are available at www.arkansastechsports.com.
 
The Suns opened the 2017 season last weekend with three wins in four games at the Southeastern Oklahoma Regional Tournament in Durant, Okla. Jalissa Gum highlighted the weekend with 26 strikeouts in 12.1 innings in circle. She also hit .462 with two home runs and eight runs batted in. Gum was named the Great American Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday.
 
Morgan Vaughan made pitching appearances in all four games for Arkansas Tech, compiling two wins and one save in 12.2 innings. She pitched her first complete game of the season in Tech's 3-1 win over Emporia State. Bailey Shaffer also added her first career win during the weekend.
 
At the plate, Sydnie Henson currently leads the Golden Suns with a .556 batting average and four runs scored. Cara Tolar has tallied a team-high seven hits.