New starting catcher Christian Bethancourt and three former Atlanta Braves standouts will headline the Braves Country Caravan stop Thursday afternoon at the Academy Sports + Outdoors store at Hamilton Place. Infielder Phil Gosselin is the other current player lined up with Bethancourt and the “alumni” trio of Javy Lopez, Marquis Grissom and Charlie Leibrandt. The group will be available for autographs from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
* Lee University will get the area baseball season under way Friday with a 3 p.m. home game in Cleveland against Emmanuel College. The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. The three-game series originally was scheduled for Sunday and Monday but was moved up into January because of predictions of a wintry mix of precipitation. Lee senior pitcher Dustin Lawson and senior second baseman Andres Nelo were named to the NCBWA Preseason All-South Region second team.
* The Tennessee Association of Vintage Base Ball is filling rosters for two local teams for the 2015 season: the Mountain City Vintage Base Ball Club of Chattanooga and the Chattanooga Lightfoot Vintage Base Ball Club. Umpires are being sought along with players for the barehanded version of the sport played according to the rules of the 1860s — including “no spittin’, no swearing’ and no gloves,” according to a Tuesday release. “In the spirit of part living history, part sporting event, TaoVBB’s mission is to entertain and educate our communities by re-creating the civility of 19th Century base ball,” the release said. The league expanded to Nashville and Knoxville last year and then targeted Chattanooga for its ninth and 10th teams. For more information, email JB Brown at Media@TennesseeVintageBaseBall.com.
Triathlon
* The Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon has been confirmed as one of USA Triathlon’s 10 regional championships for 2015. The June 28 event is the designated title race for the Southeast Region. The others this year are in St. Petersburg, Fla. (April 26); Auburn, Calif. (May 17); Middlebury, Conn. (June 6); Muncie, Ind. (June 6); Williamsburg, Va. (June 7); Boulder, Colo. (July 12); Boone, Iowa (July 18); Waco, Texas (July 26) and Portland, Ore. (Sept. 20), the qualifier for the 2016 nationals. “Competitors who finish in the top 33 percent or top five (whichever is greater) in their respective age groups at regional championships automatically for the 2015 USA Triathlon Olympic-Distance National Championships, set for Aug. 8 in Milwaukee, Wis.,” a USAT release Tuesday said. Triathletes also can earn national berths in two special qualifiers: June 27 in Vernal, Utah, and July 26 in Columbus, Ohio. The 2014 national Olympic-distance race had nearly 3,100 participants with all 50 states represented. “This is great news for Chattanooga,” Chattanooga Track Club manager Stacey Malecky said in an email. “Not only is the Waterfront Triathlon a regional race, but USAT also has designated it as one of the top 13 triathlons worth traveling for.”
Basketball
* Dalton State College jumped five spots to No. 8 in the NAIA Division I men’s basketball poll Tuesday after winning at then-No. 5 Martin Methodist last week and taking over first place in the Southern States Athletic Conference. The Roadrunners (16-2, 7-1) take a six-game winning streak into Thursday night’s 7:30 game against Blue Mountain at Mashburn Arena in the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center. They host No. 22 Bethel for homecoming at 5 p.m. Saturday.
* The Bryan College junior varsities won both basketball games Monday night in Rossville against two-year technical school Georgia Northwestern, 55-25 in the women’s game and 77-62 in the men’s. Caleb Tuck led the young Lions with 25 points, Cody Knox adding 15, while Tyler Shropshire had 18 points and five assists and Dustin Stanley grabbed 10 rebounds for the host Bobcats. The Bryan JV women scored the night’s first 19 points against the winless Lady Bobcats, who are down to five players.