The journey to the tourney begins on Saturday afternoon (4 p.m. EDT) when the Lee University baseball team (30-16) faces host and top-seeded University of West Florida (33-13) in the Gulf South Conference Tournament at Jim Spooner Field.
Coach Mark Brew and his Flames have been waiting for this time to come since Lee athletics moved away from the NAIA and SSAC three years ago. The NCAA requires a three-year provision period before teams entering D2 are allowed to take part in events leading up to the national tournament.
Brew had his Flames in the NAIA National Championship picture for several years, but he says this is best tournament field his team has ever been a part of.
“I have felt all season the conference has had six or seven teams that legitimately could win the tournament.
“It's going to be a grueling week of baseball. We have played well in late March and April and need to continue to do the things that made us successful in that stretch. This team has played with a chip on its shoulder and back against the wall for the last month. We will need to carry that same urgency over the next four days and see where that puts us.” The Flames posted a 17-4 record in their last 21 GSC contests.
Only the tournament champion is guaranteed a spot in the seven-team region which will be staged at No. 1-ranked Tampa University. The Sunshine and SIAC conferences will get an automatic bid and four at-large teams will make up the region field.
Lee enters the tournament paced by GSC Player of the Year, Ben Holland. The native of Murfreesboro, Tenn. hit .417 (70-for-168) in the regular season and paced the Gulf South Conference in homeruns (17), total bases (144), slugging percentage (.857) and on-base percentage (.528). His OBP was good for fifth in all of NCAA Division II, while his 23 doubles ranked him second in the GSC and sixth in NCAA D2. He was also third in the league in hits and runs (54) and fourth in batting average and runs driven in (49).
Lee senior shortstop Luke Toms also earned a GSC First-Team spot. Toms, who has developed into an outstanding defensive shortstop, also enjoyed good numbers at the plate. He hit .333 with 15 homeruns, 10 doubles and a team-leading 50 RBI.
Flames Trent Hill, pitcher/outfielder, and pitcher Art Vidrio were named Second-Team All-GSC. On the mound Hill has a 6-3 record. He registered a 2.83 earned-run average. He was also a regular in the outfield. When the lefty was not pitching, he posted a .367 batting average with 17 doubles, seven homeruns and 43 RBI.
Vidrio is the workhorse of the Lee pitching staff. He went to the hill for 76.1 innings. The junior left-hander recorded a 6-3 won-loss mark with a 3.30 ERA, walking 20 hitters and fanning 69.
WEST FLORIDA
Mike Jeffcoat earns his fourth GSC Coach of the Year award, having previously garnered the honor in 2014, 2011 and 2007. UWF became the first team since Delta State in 2014 to win all of its conference series.
The Argos posted a GSC-best 2.92 team ERA, which also sits inside the top 10 in all of NCAA Division II. Offensively, UWF finished second in conference hitting, batting .332 as a team in GSC action. West Florida has won 19 of its last 21 games, which featured a 12-game winning streak.
Jarrod Petree was named the GSC's top relief arm and is the lone relief pitcher featured. He was the winning pitcher in West Florida’s win over the Flames last Friday. JT Granat, a Florida State transfer, was selected to the All-GSC First Team after a very successful first season with the UWF program. Granat's 2.49 ERA is the third best in the conference, while his eight victories are tied for fourth most in the GSC.
Alex Greene is a two-time All-GSC selection after being named to the Second Team as a junior. The shortstop was named a First Team selection after posting a .341 batting average in conference action, while holding a remarkable 1.000 fielding percentage in 124 chances in GSC play.
GAME NOTES:
TICKETS: Daily pass prices for each day of the Tournament are $8.00 for adults, $5.00 for children 6-17, $5.00 for students (with GSC Student ID) and FREE for children 5 and under. All Tournament passes can also be purchased for $20.
SCHEDULE: (All times EDT) Games will begin on Saturday at 12:00 a.m., beginning with Delta State and Alabama Huntsville. West Florida and Lee will follow at 4:00 p.m. West Alabama and West Georgia will play the night cap at 8:00 p.m.
VIDEO/STATS: All games will have a free live video stream with commentary and live stats made available at portal.stretchinternet.com/gsc. Lee will have radio broadcast available on 104.1 WCLE and the station will also be audio streaming the broadcasts.
VENUE: All games will be played at Jim Spooner Field on the campus of the University of West Florida.
ADDRESS: 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, Fla. 32514
PARKING: Free parking and handicap parking is available outside of the complex.