Nov. 16, 2012
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The stakes are extremely high this weekend as the San Diego State baseball team concludes fall practice with its annual Red-Black World Series.
That's because members of the losing team -- in addition to getting an earful from the winners for the next couple of months -- have to trade bats, balls and gloves for sponges, buckets and hoses.
The losing World Series team will host a free car wash on Sunday, Nov. 18, from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The public is invited to have their autos cleaned free of charge.
The Black team won Thursday's first game of the series. Danny Sheehan's single to right-center drove home the winning run in the bottom of the final inning in the walk-off win.
The Red team will attempt to even things Friday in Game 2 at 2 p.m. The series concludes Saturday with Game 3 at 2:30 p.m. Should the Black team win Friday's contest, then total runs over the three games at the end of Saturday's contest will determine the winner. A Red team victory on Friday means that Saturday's outcome will determine the series winner.
The games are free and open to the public.
The teams for the Red-Black series were determined earlier in the week during a draft. On the Black team, shortstop Evan Potter is the owner and right-hander Ryan Doran the general manager. On the Red team, second baseman Tim Zier is the owner and right-hander Justin Hepner is the GM.
The two teams are managed by the players, who are responsible for in-game strategy, player substitutions and pitch selection.
With fall practice coming to a close, the focus will shift to individual workouts until late January. The team will reconvene at that time to begin spring practice in preparation for the 2013 season.
The Aztecs open the campaign with a three-game series against crosstown rival USD at the Toreros' new stadium that begins on February 15 at 6 p.m. SDSU's home schedule begins February 21 with a four-game series against Oregon State.