WINONA, Minn. - The Arkansas Tech Golden Suns softball team will open play at the NCAA Central 1 Regional Championship on Thursday at 3:30 p.m., facing Minnesota Duluth in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

The game will be carried live locally on KCAB in Russellville, with live audio, video, and statistics available at www.arkansastechsports.com.

The Golden Suns, Minnesota Duluth, Emporia State, and Winona State will participate in the Central 1 Regional, while Southern Arkansas will host Minnesota State, Augustana, and Washburn in the Central 2 Regional. The winners of each will meet in a super regional championship next week.

Arkansas Tech (43-17) rolled through the GAC championship on the strength of a 10-2 win over Ouachita Baptist, a 9-2 win over Harding, a 6-0 win over Southern Nazarene, and another 2-1 win over SNU in the championship final. Megan Goodnight was named the GAC championship's most outstanding player, while Janie Knowles, Bailey Bunch, Ashton Sangster, and Makenzie Addis were all named to the all-tournament team.

Minnesota Duluth (40-13) won its first two games in the NSIC championship over Sioux Falls and Concordia-St. Paul before falling to Winona State and Augustana. UMD was the third-place team in the NSIC this season.

The winner of the Tech/UMD matchup will play the Winona/Emporia winner at 1 p.m. Friday, while the losing teams will play at 3:30 p.m. Friday in an elimination contest.