KEVIN B. KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat A Sidewinders player goes for the double play at Tucson Electric Park last June. The Sidewinders and the Wildcats play an exhibition game tonight at 6:05 to raise money for a children's charity.

The UA Wildcat baseball team will play an exhibition game tonight against the Tucson Sidewinders to benefit the UA College of Education.

Every year the Wildcats perform a public service for the community, and this year the proceeds from the exhibition game will be donated to the College of Education.

"This is a collaborative project and I think the baseball team is being a great corporate citizen," said Ronald Marx, dean of students in the College of Education. "This is a great opportunity for us."

The College of Education will use the money to buy books to enhance libraries for local preschoolers.

"We need to get some books for these kids," said Ana Terrazas, director of communications for the College of Education. "This game is the ideal benefit to buy books and finish up our study."

Proceeds from the game will also go toward the launch of the Southern Arizona Benchmark Study of Early Child Care and Education Use and Quality, a study to receive input about local child care and education.

"Researchers will collect information from 1,000 families in Southern Arizona for this project," Terrazas said. "They will be asked about their experiences and concerns regarding local child care and early education."

UA students can look forward to seeing how well the Wildcats size up to the Sidewinders.

"I'm super excited about the game," said Megan McGeorge, a history junior. "I think the Wildcats have a great lineup this season and they are a tough team to take on. I think with coach Lopez leading the team, they can beat the Sidewinders."

The results of the benchmark study will be used to inform policy makers, child care professionals, early childhood educators and UA faculty on how to train the next generation of early child care providers about issues that impact a child's early learning experiences, according to a press release.

"I think this is a wonderful idea because there are too many children that are unable to read at the level they should, and this may decrease that number," McGeorge said.

Terrazas said coordinators and students can look forward to a night filled with hot dogs, hamburgers and baseball.

"We are all really excited about the game and we are thrilled that they picked us to do this," said Terrazas. "It's a fun venue and goes to such a great cause, so the baseball game is just the icing on the cake."

The game will start at 6 p.m. at Tucson Electric Park. Admission is $3 at the gate.

"It's nice to have our baseball team participate in this event," Marx said. "We hope a lot of people come out to enjoy the game."