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.
- The Lee men's team ended its season with a 314 score Wednesday and a 15th-place 54-hole total of 918 at the South/South Regional in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. "Unfortunately this was a really disappointing week for us," Flames coach John Maupin said in a school release. "I feel for our guys. We just didn't have it this week. It was probably our worst tournament of the season, and it just came at a bad time." Shea Sylvester had Lee's best final round, a 75. Peyton Sliger shot a 78 and Corey Sheppard shot a 79.
Brianne HolsombackSwimming
- Girls Preparatory School senior Brianne Holsomback had a commitment ceremony Wednesday to confirm her intent to swim for NCAA Division III member Sewanee. "Brianne is one of the strongest competitors I have ever had. In the toughest situations she is at her best," GPS coach John Woods said. "She has been a mainstay on our best relays for the varsity since her freshman year." Holsomback expects to do freestyle sprints and the 100 and 200 butterfly in college. She visited 10 schools and narrowed her choices to Albright and Franklin & Marshall in Pennsylvania, Centre in Kentucky and Sewanee. "Sewanee is so beautiful, and the team is so tight-knit. I got to see them away from the sugar-coated tour, and they seemed like a family," she said. "Sewanee is one of the last ones I visited, and when I walked on campus I said, 'Wow, this is it.'"
Lacrosse
- Freshman goalkeeper Tate Boyce from McCallie School was one of four Providence men's lacrosse players named to All-Big East teams for the 2016 season. Boyce was a first-team selection after starting all 15 games for the Friars and making 172 saves - 11.54 per game, second in the Big East. He was third on the team with 32 ground balls. He is the first freshman in program history to earn All-Big East honors and just the second Friars goalie to be a first-teamer.