EDMOND, Okla. - The No. 12 Arkansas Tech Golden Suns softball team will open NCAA tournament play this afternoon on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma, facing off against fifth seed Southern Arkansas in a noon contest. 

Live audio, video, and statistics will be available at www.arkansastechsports.com. 

The Golden Suns enter the championship event as the fourth seed in the Central Region. Site host and nationally top-ranked Central Oklahoma earned the top seed in the region, while Minnesota Duluth earned the eighth seed and will face UCO at 2:30. 

The Golden Suns have a 5-1 record against teams competing in this regional event. Arkansas Tech swept the regular-season series with Southern Arkansas, and faced off against both Minnesota Duluth and UCO in the season-opening Arkansas Tech Winter Invitational. The Golden Suns topped UMD in a 6-4 walk-off win on the opening day of the season while UCO topped the Golden Suns 8-7 in eight innings the following day. 

All in all, Tech is 7-1 against teams in the Central Region championship - the Golden Suns also have wins over Augustana and Missouri Western, who are competing in the Central Region 2 event in Winona, Minnesota. 

The winner of the Tech/SAU contest will face the winner of the UCO/UMD contest at noon Friday, while the losing teams from both matchups will play at 2:30.