So strong was Ben Holland’s baseball season for Lee University that the senior first baseman was announced Wednesday as the Gulf South Conference player of the year even though the Flames are only the sixth seed going into the league tournament, which starts Saturday in Pensacola, Fla. But Holland was a big part of the Flames’ 17 wins in their past 21 GSC games that got them into the tournament in their first year of eligibility. He hit .417 in the regular season and led the league with 17 home runs, 144 total bases, a .528 on-base percentage and a .857 slugging percentage, and he had a 22-game hitting streak, 49 runs batted in and 54 scored. Senior shortstop Luke Toms joined him on the All-GSC first team with 15 homers and 50 RBIs, and Trenton Hill and Art Vidrio represented Lee on the second team as starting pitchers.
– Tennessee Wesleyan College, ranked fifth in the NAIA, wrapped up its regular-season with a 10-9 win at Talladega (Ala.) College on Wednesday, the Bulldogs’ 40th win in 51 games this season. Talladega dropped to 20-26. TWC is seeded No. 1 for the AAC tournament that starts Monday at Hunter Wright Stadium in Kingsport, Tenn. Bryan College (36-16) is seeded second.
– Chattanooga State is 19th in the NJCAA Division I baseball rankings released Wednesday. The Tigers (34-13) are in the top 20 with two fellow TCCAA members – No. 4 Walters State and No. 11 Dyersburg State.
Golf
– The Lee women’s team slipped backward in the final six holes Wednesday and finished with an uncharacteristic 327 for a 941 total in the NCAA Division II super regional in Pensacola, Fla. That ended the Lady Flames’ season short of the national tournament. Caroline Moore had an 80 for Lee’s best score Wednesday, while Sam Burrus and Bernadette Little shot 82s and Callie Gino closed with an 83.