Two weeks ago, basketball coach Terry Truax was looking at other jobs, and high school recruits knew it. At the same time, Towson State was awaiting a conference transfer that would aid its athletic image.
Now, it appears that Truax will remain on board, and the Tigers have made the most significant basketball signing of his tenure, getting Dunbar guard Terrance Alexander, the area's top senior. Towson State teams, however, will be staying in the East Coast Conference because the North Atlantic told the Tigers it didn't want to expand after all.
Go figure.
Here is where Towson State, UMBC and the rest of the ECC stand as of yesterday afternoon:
Before the month is over, the conference is expected to make Buffalo its seventh member. The first weekend in May, the NCAA Division I Championships Committee will weigh the ECC's appeal to be included in next season's basketball play-in. Later in May, the ECC will decide where it will hold its 1992 postseason tournament. It has been held at the Towson Center since 1984, but UMBC athletic director Charlie Brown said the Retrievers are interested.
* Towson State swept UMBC in a baseball doubleheader yesterday, all but locking up an ECC tournament berth for the Tigers and sending the Retrievers scrambling. Towson State is 18-17-1 overall, 10-4 in the ECC, while UMBC dropped to 4-8 in the conference, 18-16 overall.
Jay Baker, a junior righthander, tossed a three-hitter as the Tigers took the opener 5-1. Jay Logwood, a junior from Randallstown, had a two-run triple, and Bruce Rupp, a senior catcher from Westminster, followed with a two-run homer in the fifth. UMBC jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the second game, but Towson State came back to win 7-6 with four runs in the bottom of the seventh. The game-winning blow was a three-run homer by Erik Sheetz, a junior first baseman from Havre de Grace.
Weather permitting, the top baseball attraction this weekend is Clemson's visit to Maryland for games tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday. The Tigers are 35-6 overall and ranked No. 11 in the nation. Jim Crowley, a senior from Dulaney who's playing second base this spring, is hitting .389 with nine home runs and 38 RBIs. He's the son of former Oriole Terry Crowley, who is now batting coach for the Minnesota Twins.
In Division III, Frostburg State had won eight straight before dropping both ends of doubleheader to York. The Bobcats (15-9) are getting a big year from junior third baseman Mark Liller, who's hitting .449 with 26 RBIs. He's from Keyser, W.Va.
