The Colonels baseball team will participate in its annual Fall World Series this weekend at Ray E. Didier Field, ending four weeks of fall practice. The team will be divided into a red squad and a gray squad. Assistant coach Clint Stoy and head assistant coach Kerrick Jackson will coach the red and gray squads, respectively. Head baseball coach Chip Durham said the rosters were selected Monday in a draft.

The squad will participate its three-game series with games Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. The squad that wins two out of the three games will be crowned the winner. All games are free and open to the public.

Just like they have been doing the entire fall season, Durham said the coaching staff would be watching the players to see who can contribute to the squad when the season starts in the spring.

Durham said the conference-series games the team plays during its season are the most important, and he is trying to emulate that as closely as possible in the Fall World Series.

“We’re trying to put it in the most realistic situation that we can,” Durham said. “That’s why we have the game times like they are. The kids will be in uniform, and we’ll have umpires.”

Durham said the rules for the Fall World Series will not be entirely the same as a normal NCAA baseball game. He said there would be a “free substitution” in which players can leave the game and then re-enter. Normally once a player leaves a game he cannot re-enter.

“Each team will have approximately 13 position players and six to seven pitchers,” Durham said. “The pitchers will be a little different. Once they throw, they won’t re-enter, but all 13 position players will hit on each side. We’ll have a 13-hitting lineup on each side. It won’t be nine (like in the regular season). So everybody’ll hit.”

While his coaches will lead their squads, Durham will be meeting fans, making sure everything runs smoothly and evaluating his players’ performances.

There is also some incentive for each team and its coach to win the game.

“The winner of the game will get to eat steak, and the loser will get to eat pork and beans and beanie weenies, so it adds a little competition,” Durham said.

Durham said the baseball booster club would cook the food, which will be paid for from the baseball fund. The meal will be served Sunday night following the Sunday afternoon game.

In addition to the dinner, Durham said there would be a meet-and-greet session for fans following Sunday’s game. Fans will have the opportunity to meet players and coaches and to obtain autographs.

Durham said the hurricanes complicated fall practice, but the team has adjusted. The team was supposed to have finished fall practice last weekend but Hurricanes Katrina and Rita delayed them two weeks.

Senior infielder/catcher Jose Higuera said the fall has been successful. He said the team had to adjust to a new coaching staff and system.

“We’ve been working pretty hard out here getting some (intersquad) scrimmages in,” Higuera said. “We’ve been able to see some nice pitching getting us ready for the spring.”