As they did last year, the Chattanooga Cyclones won the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Southeastern Qualifier No. 1 last weekend and earned a berth in the World Wood Bat World Championship next month in Jupiter, Fla. More than 500 professional baseball scouts and college recruiters are expected to be present. The Cyclones went 6-0 and outscored their opponents 40-13 last week. Jackson Bell, Alex Barbee and Alex Tucker pitched a combined 7-0 shutout of the Windword Braves, with tournament MVP Hunter Oliver belting a two-run triple, Cade Evans stealing two bases and scoring two runs and Logan Haga collecting two hits and an RBI. Noah Hill had two hits and an RBI, while Oliver had a hit, an RBI and a run in a 2-1 defeat of Fat Cat Baseball as Seth Rogers got the pitching win and Brandon Thompson recorded a save. Oliver had two doubles, an RBI and two runs, Evans two hits, three steals and two runs and Tucker two RBIs in a 9-5 victory over the East Cobb Braves. Seth Selby pitched a shutout in a quarterfinal win over RBI Red Stitch, when Caleb Collins had two hits, an RBI and a run. The Cyclones blasted the nationally No. 2-ranked East Cobb Astros in the semifinals, with Tucker and Haga pitching, Oliver getting four hits with a triple, two doubles, three RBIs and three runs and Joseph Hill driving in and scoring two runs with three hits. Haga had two hits, an RBI and a run and Colby Morgan had a two-run double and scored a run. Oliver's two-run homer and a Haga solo shot began the Cyclones' rally from a 7-2 deficit to beat the 10th-ranked GBSA Rays in the final. Evans pitched five scoreless innings in relief, Collins had the tying RBI hit in the seventh and the Cyclones won in the eighth when defensive star Noah Hill led off with a hit, Oliver doubled, Haga was intentionally walked, Collins drew an RBI walk and Tucker singled in an insurance run. Oliver hit .600 for the tournament with a .780 on-base percentage, eight extra-base hits, 10 RBIs and seven runs scored.
Football
* Former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga defensive tackle Derrick Lott was one of three players - along with cornerback Isaiah Frey and linebacker Julian Stanford - signed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice squad this week. "Thankful for this day," Lott tweeted Tuesday morning. The 6-foot-4, 302-pounder signed a free-agent deal with the Tennessee Titans immediately after this year's draft. He had one tackle in a pair of preseason games and showed glimpses of potential, but he was cut when the team started to trim its roster last month. After being cut, Lott visited the Bucs and the New England Patriots, who had been interested in him prior to the draft. Lott was a first-team all-Southern Conference selection in 2014, finishing with six sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss. Another former UTC defensive standout, Davis Tull, is currently on the New Orleans Saints' injury reserve list with a torn labrum.
Soccer
* Lee University's women finished Wednesday night's nonconference match with Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Ga., in a scoreless tie after two periods of overtime. Haley Gribler saved four shots in goal for the Lady Flames (1-2-2), who finished the match with a 20-12 advantage on shots.
* Tennessee Wesleyan College's men opened Appalachian Athletic Conference play Wednesday with a scoreless tie, finishing double overtime that way against visiting Union College. The Bulldogs (3-2-1) were outshot 23-17, with Daniel O'Hare recording 11 saves for TWC. The TWC women opened their AAC slate with a 1-0 victory over Union on Wednesday and improved to 2-3-1 overall.
* Bryan College's men dropped to 3-3 with a 2-0 loss at Ohio's Rio Grande University on Wednesday. Rio Grande is ranked fifth nationally in the NAIA.
* Covenant College's men lost 2-1 to Birmingham Southern in NCAA Division III play Wednesday night on Lookout Mountain. Assisted by Henry Paris, Tim Love helped Covenant (1-4) avoid a shutout when he scored in the 87th minute. Birmingham Southern (5-0-1), which outshot Covenant 11-6, scored its goals in the second half.
Volleyball
* Ashley Mattoch had 14 kills, Meghan Wallace had 13 and Rachel Mosley and Kara Stamper contributed 12 in Bryan College's 3-1 Appalachian Athletic Conference volleyball win Tuesday against Reinhardt. AAC assists leader Shelby Grace Enochs had a season-high 51 assists plus 16 digs, and Kayla Rymer had 25 digs for the Lady Lions (6-9, 3-0).