Former top baseball stars from Mobile and Baldwin County will renew their rivalry Sept. 28 in Daphne for the third-annual Conflict on the Causeway game.

The game includes many former minor league and independent baseball players that fans will recognize from South Alabama, Auburn, Faulkner State, Bishop State and other area high schools. The series between the Mobile Cubs and the Baldwin Blue Crabs is tied 1-1. 

The nine-inning game is free and open to the public. Pre-game activities begin at 2:30 p.m. with the first pitch at 3 p.m. at The Hutch, the baseball diamond behind Coastal Church off Hwy 64 just east of U.S. 181. 

"We do this every year because we enjoy giving families an afternoon outing that is wholesome and doesn't break the budget," said co-organizer Chris Peacock, a Mobile firefighter/paramedic who pitched at University of Mobile and signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's just baseball the old-fashioned way: bring your chair and sit along the fence or in the bleachers. Well have a few food trucks. We don't charge admission, but if people want to donate, we'll give it to the church." 

Foley High School coach Jordan Ebert, who played in the highly regarded East Cobb Baseball program in Atlanta and at Auburn, will be among those returning for the event. 

Former Daphne pitcher and outfielder Stephen Williams, who homered and tripled en route to a 3-for-4 game last year, is back for another year with the Blue Crabs, as is Drew Milligan, a former Royals prospect who played at Delta State and lives in Baldwin County. 

"My son gets to watch me play, which he didn't get to do when I was really playing," Milligan said.

The Hutch is named for former Daphne baseball coach Joe Hutchins, who designed and maintains the field, where he also runs the Blue Wave Baseball Academy for players ages 5 to 12.