League Play

The Towson Tigers knew that navigating through the first half of their schedule would be a treacherous task. They had lost two of the most prolific attackmen in the country in Spencer Ford and Kevin Sturm. Only 16 letter winners returned from last year's 5-8 squad. Twenty-one freshmen, the largest class ever at Towson, graced this year's roster. Now that the Tigers have dropped to 1-4 with Saturday's 13-8 loss to Loyola -- the second top-three team to beat Towson in consecutive weeks -- all coach Tony Seaman wants to focus on is the next season.

The Orioles have decided to take advantage of a new rule that allows for the hiring of a seventh coach. Former big league catcher Einar Diaz, who was ticketed to be the field coach at Bowie, will now be an assistant major league coach, helping hitting coach Jim Presley as well as other members of Showalter's staff. “I've had Einar as a player [with the Texas Rangers in 2003],” Showalter said. “Einar is just a solid human being. He'll fit in real well to the clubhouse, pretty seamless.” Showalter said one of the most important things about Diaz is that he's a good batting practice pitcher, something needed with the departure of last year's third-base coach DeMarlo Hale.

In one of the most competitive county field hockey races in years, Glenelg, a team with three seniors and 15 juniors, is alone on top."Amazing," said senior captain Sarah Frederick. "I never thought it could come true, but we're there. Hopefully we can hold on to it."The Gladiators, who were 4-5 in the county last season, improved to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in the league after their 2-0 victory Friday at River Hill. Elizabeth Narron scored off an assist from Kelly O'Connor with 9: 52 remaining in the game, and Frederick clinched it with 5: 12 remaining with a goal eight minutes later off an assist from Kristina Schwarz.

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Orioles finally lost a Grapefruit League game. The Twins jumped out to a six-run lead Thursday afternoon, three of them off starter Jair Jurrjens in the first inning, as the Orioles lost their first spring game, 7-1, at Hammond Stadium. The Orioles had won their first five Grapefruit League games. Jurrjens, making his second spring start, struggled mightily through a 34-pitch first inning . Jurrjens, who is trying to earn a rotation spot after signing a minor league contract, allowed three earned runs on two hits and three walks, battling with his control throughout the outing.

If you offer them a league, they will come. The fields of dreams this summer for more than 400 male lacrosse players are Ilchester's Rockburn Branch Park or Columbia's Cedar Lane Park. There, four evenings a week, sweat-soaked players - including former all-Americans, current college stars, those from the club ranks, a few just out of high school and aging weekend warriors - get yet another chance to play the game they love. The 20-team Howard County Men's Summer Lacrosse League, the most ever for the county, is thought to be probably the largest such league in lacrosse-crazy metropolitan Baltimore.

Nick ColvinMcDonogh, tennisColvin won his third straight MIAA A Conference No. 1 singles title with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Zach Myers of Loyola. Colvin finished 14-0 in league play this season and 55-0 for his career.

2 -- Remaining unbeaten public school football teams in Baltimore County's 4A-3A League. Perry Hall and Parkville are 4-0 in league play and 5-0 overall. The Knights and the Gators, who split in their two meetings last season, will play Oct. 21 at defending champion Perry Hall. The game will likely determine the conference title. 3 -- Goals allowed by Lutheran's field hockey team in eight games against Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference competition. The Saints avenged an earlier loss to Key School on Thursday and took sole possession of first place in the conference.

FOOTBALL St. Mary's @ Archbishop Spalding WHEN:: Tomorrow, 7 p.m. OUTLOOK:: The visiting Saints ended Spalding's two-year run as Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference champs last season with a 26-20 win in the title game. The Cavaliers (4-3, 4-1 in league play) are coming off their first league loss in a 24-9 setback to St. Paul's last week that took them out of first. They are looking to make it three titles in four years behind a dominating running game led by Nick Whittles, Jordan Cohill and Nick Kuhl.

Kaleo Kina had 22 points and six rebounds and Navy made 25 of 29 free throws to defeat host Lehigh, 80-75, last night. The win improved Navy's overall record to 12-12 and 5-4 in the Patriot League. The Midshipmen are at .500 overall for the first time since Nov. 11 and are above .500 in league play for the first time since January 2002. The Mids swept the season series against Lehigh and won for the second time in a row in league play. The win also moved Navy's Patriot League road record to 3-1. The score was tied at 71 with 1:45 to play, but Greg Sprink made seven of eight free throws down the stretch to lift the Mids.

State women Colonial Athletic Association Site: Old Dominion University Field House, Norfolk, Va. When: Today through Saturday 2001 champion: Old Dominion 2002 favorite: Old Dominion. The Lady Monarchs are 18-0 in the league and 15th-ranked in the country. They have the league's top scoring offense, No. 1 defense, best field-goal-percentage, lead in blocked shots and are No. 1 in assists. Dark horse: Drexel. The first-year CAA team was 6-12 in league play, but the Dragons seem to have the most advantageous draw of the also-rans to make it to the semifinals.

The Mechanicsburg Nine of Pennsylvania will face the Elkton Eclipse Base Ball Club in a circa-1860s-style twi-night doubleheader on Saturday as one of the feature attractions of this year's Corbit's Charge Commemorative Weekend encampment in Westminster. The annual Union and Confederate encampment, which recalls the Civil War battle in Westminster, will be held Friday through Sunday on the grounds of 224 N. Center St. The two ball games — organized by the National Association of Base Ball Players, a group that preserves baseball as it was played in the 1800s — will be held there as well; the first beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday, and the second at 6 p.m. The games will be played under the rules of 1864: Team members play in an open field, not a diamond.

In the fourth quarter of Tuesday's boys basketball showdown against visiting Dunbar, Edmondson's senior backcourt tandem of Kavon Pyatt and Rodney Pratcher did all the little things needed to keep a safe distance and bring home another win. When the No. 6 Poets cut the deficit to three points with a couple of quick baskets in the final two minutes, Pyatt did something big. Pyatt charged the rim and followed a miss with an emphatic dunk --...

Whenever Archbishop Spalding and Seton Keough meet, you're going to see a lot more defense than offense. Sunday afternoon, the No. 1 Cavaliers used strong inside defense against No. 2 Seton Keough's superior height to come away with a 49-36 victory, their second this season over the host Gators in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference. Spalding forwards Shaquilla Curtis, Sherae Swinson and Camille Calhoun — none taller than 6 feet — countered 6-foot-4 Liz Brown and strong 6-foot-1 Achiri Ade, holding them to 21 combined points.

COLLEGE PARK - Maryland coach Gary Williams sounded eager yesterday to push past Wednesday night's loss to Morgan State - past the turnovers and missed shots and resulting media questions - and refocus the Terrapins' attention on today's opening of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule against Georgia Tech. The Morgan State game, in which the Terps (11-3) missed 13 of 14 three-point attempts and had 21 turnovers, led to plenty of angst and criticism among Maryland fans - at least those bold enough to voice their opinions online and on talk radio.

FOOTBALL St. Mary's @ Archbishop Spalding WHEN:: Tomorrow, 7 p.m. OUTLOOK:: The visiting Saints ended Spalding's two-year run as Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference champs last season with a 26-20 win in the title game. The Cavaliers (4-3, 4-1 in league play) are coming off their first league loss in a 24-9 setback to St. Paul's last week that took them out of first. They are looking to make it three titles in four years behind a dominating running game led by Nick Whittles, Jordan Cohill and Nick Kuhl.

Navy's women's lacrosse team has sailed through the first five games of its inaugural Division I season, but the competition cranks up this weekend when the Midshipmen open their Patriot League schedule. The team has been winning by an average of 15 goals, but that scoring margin is unlikely to continue as two-time defending league champion Holy Cross comes to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis on Saturday. "Obviously, our goal is to be as successful as possible in the Patriot League, but there are some good teams in there," said Navy coach Cindy Timchal.

Residents who live near the Jaycees Municipal Park in Westminster are likely to protest last week's request to keep the ball fields there lighted later into the night. Before they claim the longer hours will be an onerous imposition on them, however, they might ponder the situation in New Windsor, where idle and improperly supervised youths are running amok and destroying that town's civic life.The Westminster Jaycees Girl Softball League and Westminster Optimist Football and Cheerleading Association have asked for more time to accommodate the growing number of teams playing in their leagues.

Kaleo Kina had 22 points and six rebounds and Navy made 25 of 29 free throws to defeat host Lehigh, 80-75, last night. The win improved Navy's overall record to 12-12 and 5-4 in the Patriot League. The Midshipmen are at .500 overall for the first time since Nov. 11 and are above .500 in league play for the first time since January 2002. The Mids swept the season series against Lehigh and won for the second time in a row in league play. The win also moved Navy's Patriot League road record to 3-1. The score was tied at 71 with 1:45 to play, but Greg Sprink made seven of eight free throws down the stretch to lift the Mids.