RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech Golden Suns softball team will return to action this weekend, playing four games in Emporia, Kansas beginning Saturday, February 17. 

Tech will open play Saturday at 9 a.m. against No. 14 Missouri-St. Louis and then face Concordia-St. Paul in an 11 a.m. matchup. The Golden Suns conclude play on Sunday, opening at 11 a.m. against Pittsburg State before wrapping up against Northeastern State at 3 p.m. Sunday. 

The Golden Suns (6-2) have hit .359 as a team, led by a .520 batting average from Bailey Bunch and a .478 average from Ashton Sangster. Makenzie Addis, Paige Mendoza, and Megan Goodnight have all provided punch in the heart of the Tech order. 

14th-ranked UMSL enters play with a 2-2 record after splitting games last weekend in Huntsville, Ala., falling to Mississippi College and Shorter and picking up wins over Delta State and Trevecca Nazarene. 

Concordia will be playing its first games of the 2018 season. The Golden Bears posted a 16-35 record with an 8-22 mark in the NSIC last season. 

Pittsburg State (5-7) will have some familiarity with the Golden Suns, if only from having played in the same event to open the season. The Gorillas went 3-3 in Durant, dropping their first three contests to Oklahoma Christian, Oklahoma Baptist, and Cameron, before knocking off Newman, East Central, and Southeastern Oklahoma. From there, the Gorillas made a swing through Florida, splitting with Lynn and Nova Southeastern and being swept by Barry. 

Northeastern State (3-5) and Arkansas Tech were scheduled to square off in the originally-scheduled Nine-State Classic in Bentonville, and the two teams will keep their scheduled matchup this weekend in Emporia. The RiverHawks went 3-1 in Arkadelphia to open the season, downing Missouri S&T, Ouachita Baptist, and Christian Brothers, and dropping a 9-1 decision to Southern Arkansas. Last weekend, NSU went 0-4 in Edmond, falling to Oklahoma Christian, Southern Nazarene, East Central, and Southeastern Oklahoma. 

Live video and statistics for all Arkansas Tech games are available at www.arkansastechsports.com.