Hanford

The warning signs could have been posted all over the Loyola locker room before yesterday's lacrosse game at Minnegan Stadium.1. Don't look forward to a showdown with No. 1 Syracuse next week. 2. Don't underestimate a Towson team bent on atonement for a 20-9 pasting last season. 3. Don't try to overdo it with the full roster together for the first time this season.The No. 7 Greyhounds might have strayed into those traps briefly yesterday, but, for the most part, they kept their minds on business and comfortably beat the Tigers, 12-8, before 2,015 sun splashed fans.

Mary M. Dowling, a Red Cross volunteer who recently celebrated her 20th anniversary with the group, died of a heart attack Wednesday at Good Samaritan Hospital. She was 95. A resident of Walker Mews Apartments in Cedarcroft, she had lived in Waverly for many years. She and her close friend, Marian Eichler, 96, earned the nickname the "Tuesday Ladies," for the day they did volunteer work. They were a familiar sight at blood drives throughout the Baltimore area. In recent years, they confined their activities to clerical work and bulk mailings.

GTS Duratek Inc. of Columbia is part of an industry team that won a $1.18 billion contract yesterday from the Department of Energy to clean up a nuclear waste site in Idaho.On a team led by BNFL Inc. of Great Britain, GTS Duratek will provide its patented vitrification method of disposing of radioactive and hazardous waste by dissolving it in molten glass.The pair of companies won a similar -- and potentially bigger -- contract in September to clean up waste at one of the country's largest disposal sites in Hanford, Wash.

LOWELL, Mass. - If he's done it once, he's done it a hundred times. A thousand, maybe. Gary Gait swooping down the wing and heading for the goal. Last night, against a tough Boston Cannons team, the Bayhawks' player/coach was at his best as he barged in and scored the winning goal 50 seconds into overtime to lift the Bayhawks to a rousing, 17-16 triumph, disappointing a Cawley Stadium crowd of 4,322. "He's unbelievable," Bayhawks defenseman Jamie Hanford said. "He's the best player in the world."

Bayhawks tonight Boston (1-0) at Bayhawks (1-0) Site: Johnny Unitas Stadium at Towson University. Only one side of the stadium (capacity 6,000) will be open to spectators unless otherwise necessary. Time: 7 TV/Radio: Ch. 2 tape delay, Saturday, 11:35 p.m./WJFK (1300 AM) Tickets: Prices range from $7 to $15. Call 1-866-99-HAWKS (42957). Outlook: The Bayhawks launch their home season against a team that beat them twice in three meetings last season. Last year's league runner-up opened in Seattle on Saturday with a 24-18 victory over Rochester, while the Cannons were edging defending Major Lacrosse League champion Long Island, 17-16, at home.

Top scorers1. Casey Powell, Syracuse, attackman: Imaginative. Dazzling. Continues to reinvent the attack position.2. Jesse Hubbard, Princeton, attackman: Armed with the hardest shot in the game.3. *Dudley Dixon, Hopkins, attackman: Versatile finisher who flourished in first season at Homewood.Top feeders1. Jon Hess, Princeton, attackman: Poised feeder, fueling the most dangerous attack in the game.2. Casey Powell, Syracuse, attackman: Double or triple team him and watch the crisp, acrobatic passing.

More than 200 academicians and business and government leaders turned their backs on the gorgeous fall weather yesterday to ponder such weighty issues as public policy, the bully pulpit and the media and the presidency at the Inner Harbor's Hyatt Regency.White House adviser Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty, the scheduled keynote speaker, was not able to attend the 25th annual Leadership Conference.Instead, Philip Lader, head of the Small Business Administration, spoke, focusing, among other things, on what he termed the "kaleidoscopic phenomenon of policy making."

Baseball Blue Jays: Purchased the contract of IF Tony Fernandez from Triple-A Syracuse. Optioned IF Chris Woodward to Syracuse. Brewers: Placed P Paul Rigdon on the 15-day DL, retroactive to June 9. Recalled P Kyle Peterson from Triple-A Indianapolis. Cubs: Sent outright P Manny Aybar to Triple-A Iowa. Recalled IF Jason Smith from Iowa. Devil Rays: Activated SS Felix Martinez from the 15-day DL. Optioned P Dan Wheeler to Triple-A Durham. Dodgers: Activated1B Eric Karros from the 15-day DL. Placed IF Tim Bogar on the 15-day DL. Indians: Recalled P Jake Westbrook from Triple-A Buffalo.

Gary Gait will serve double duty in next Sunday's Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game, to be held at 4 p.m. at Prince George's Stadium in Bowie. The midfielder and coach of the Bayhawks was selected as a player and, with the Bayhawks leading the National Division with a 6-2 record, he also will coach the National team. He will be joined by six other Bayhawks, including attackmen Mark Millon and Tom Marechek and goalie Greg Cattrano. The other Bayhawks on the team are midfielders Josh Sims and Paul Cantabene and defender Brian Reese.

A major acquisition helped GTS Duratek double earnings and more than triple revenue in the second quarter, the company said yesterday.The Columbia-based hazardous-waste disposal company said its net income jumped 101 percent, to $1.036 million, compared with $516,000 during the same period last year. The earnings translated to a gain of 5 cents per share, up from 1 cent per share last year.Revenue for the quarter leaped to $38.01 million from $11.645 fTC million, a 226 percent increase.The numbers represent the acquisition of the Scientific Ecology Group, which GTS Duratek bought from Westinghouse Electric Corp.