Sea

Kudos to the nonprofit Pride of Baltimore, Inc. for showing kids that learning can be fun, as was apparent in the published photographs ("Pride II takes to the bay as a floating classroom," April 11). But there was something blatantly missing - life jackets! Let's be sure to also use these learning excursions to teach the importance of water safety. Terry Callanan, Catonsville Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

The ruptured spleen that sidelined senior midfielder Ryan Clarke for the remainder of the season just five games into 2013 may have created a vacuum among Salisbury's stable of standout players. Fortunately, Eric Kluge has stepped in to fill the void. The senior midfielder leads the No. 6 Sea Gulls (12-3) in goals with 32 and points with 41, and he led all scorers with four goals in the team's 24-4 walloping of Wesley on Wednesday night. Joined by juniors Greg Korvin (11 goals and 10 assists)

Three endangered sea turtles that spent the winter in Baltimore departed Saturday evening, joining a caravan of at least 43 others bound for Florida's warm waters and a return to their natural habitat. The three turtles — Chet, Biff and Two-Bit — were among more than 200 sea turtles to wash ashore on Massachusetts beaches, critically ill with hypothermia, last November and December. When The New England Aquarium's sea turtle hospital reached capacity, rescuers reached out to other facilities up and down the East Coast to find foster homes.

Reigning national champion Salisbury has captured 17 league titles in the 20-year history of the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC), but this season's campaign may be the most critical to the program. Wednesday night's 10-8 loss to No. 3 Stevenson dropped the No. 6 Sea Gulls to 10-3 and may have endangered the team's bid for an at-large berth in the South Region of the NCAA tournament. Coach Jim Berkman also pointed out another side effect of the setback. “We might have lost the opportunity to host some playoff games,” he said.

Getting into a five-goal hole, failing to capitalize on extra-man opportunities, and committing too many penalties are just some of issues that flared up in No. 6 Salisbury's 10-8 loss to No. 3 Stevenson Wednesday night. Those troubles were noted by coach Jim Berkman, but he also tried to glean positives from the setback. “We've got to stay out of the penalty box, that's for sure,” he said Thursday morning, referring to the 13 penalties the team accumulated. “But I was proud of how our kids came back.

Stevenson - ranked third in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll - has secured resume-building victories against No. 5 Rochester Institute of Technology and No. 7 Lynchburg. The team can now add No. 6 Salisbury to the list, and Wednesday night's 10-8 decision at Sea Gull Stadium in Salisbury may be the most significant in terms of psychological impact. “I think it's a pretty big win,” coach Paul Cantabene said Thursday morning. “We had lost to them four times in a row, including three times last year.

Thanks for your article on climate change and rising sea levels ("Survey shows Americans wary of sea level rising," March 29.) Global warming is driving major change in sea levels. In 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world's leading authority on climate science, projected an annual sea level rise of less than 2 millimeters per year. But from 1993 through 2006, the oceans actually rose 3.3 millimeters per year, more than 50 percent above projections, according to Scientific American magazine.

After six years battling Salisbury as members of the Capital Athletic Conference, Stevenson moved to the Middle Atlantic Conference for the current 2013 campaign. But the conference switch hasn't dulled the emotion that the rivalry has generated in 14 meetings between these two teams. “I don't think the tenor of the rivalry has changed,” Mustangs coach Paul Cantabene said Monday morning. “I still think both teams don't like each other very much, and I still think it's a very big game on the national landscape, and it always has been.

One of the more highly anticipated games in Division III will take place next Wednesday when No. 5 Stevenson (8-1) visits No. 7 Salisbury (9-2). The two teams will continue their rivalry although they're no longer in the same conference. The Mustangs moved from the Capital Athletic Conference to the Middle Atlantic Conference after last season. But the coaches of both teams said that their focus is on Saturday's games. Stevenson hosts No. 8 Lynchburg (6-1) at Mustangs Stadium in Owings Mills, while the reigning national champion Sea Gulls will play host to CAC foe Marymount at Sea Gull Stadium in Salisbury.

When senior midfielder Ryan Clarke was lost for the remainder of the season because of a ruptured spleen during a 7-5 win against Widener on Feb. 23, the thought was that Salisbury's already-beleaguered offense was in more trouble. But the absence of Clarke - who was on the Tewaaraton Award watch list last month - has spurred the development of his teammates and spread the wealth around the Sea Gulls (9-2), who have moved up to No. 7 in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll.