In addition to focusing on their fielding skills and batting average, potential recruits for the baseball team at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania might want to brush up on their knowledge of child development.

As head coach Harry Hillson puts it, "To make this team, a player has to field, hit and baby-sit."

Make no mistake -- this is a serious commitment. The Mansfield baseball team has hosted a "Kids Nite Out," giving area parents the opportunity to drop their children off for five hours on selected Saturday nights, for the past 18 years.

"We hold it eight times per year," said Steve McCloskey, sports information director at Mansfield. "The largest attendance is always in December when parents drop off their kids to go Christmas shopping. It's called 'Kids Nite Out,' but it's really parents' night out without the kids."

The program is held in Decker Gymnasium on the Mansfield campus and costs parents only $5 per child. Children can choose from a variety of supervised activities, including basketball, swimming, volleyball, ping-pong, badminton, jumping rope and the trampoline.

The funds go toward the team's annual spring training trip. While it might sound like easy money, particularly since the team raises about $10,000 a year doing it, keeping track of up to 200 kids is a big job. Fortunately, it's an all-hands-on-deck endeavor. All of the members of the baseball team participate.

"Parents know the whole team will be there," McCloskey said, noting that fact adds to the dependability and safety of the event, something parents rely upon.

While the event raises money for the spring training trip, it also provides a service hard to come by in the rural area surrounding Mansfield, where there is no YMCA or similar facility for kids. The student-athletes also enjoy the interaction with the youngsters, who can keep them on their toes.

"There's a real commitment by our players," McClosky said. "If you know anything about college students, you know that there are a few other things they might prefer to be doing on a Saturday night other than baby-sitting the town's kids."

While the team is committed to the kids on many Saturday nights in the off-season, they're also committed to baseball, appearing in postseason play in 21 of the last 26 seasons.

Maybe chasing youngsters is good training for chasing fly balls.