Cal Lutheran Set to Play Ball

The first phase of California Lutheran University’s $29-million sports complex will be unveiled today when the inaugural game is played on the new George “Sparky” Anderson Baseball Field.

A group of alumni will face current Cal Lutheran players at a free game beginning at noon. Anderson, a former major league manager who lives in Thousand Oaks, will throw out the first pitch.

Since 1979, Anderson has helped the four-year private university raise millions of dollars through golf tournaments to support its baseball program.

Anderson, the third-most winning manager in major league history, managed the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970s and joined the Detroit Tigers in 1979. He is the only manager to win a World Series in both the National and American leagues.

Today’s matchup will be called by former play-by-play announcer Ernie Harwell, the voice of the Tigers from 1960 through 2002. Harwell was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1998.

Meanwhile, two gymnasiums and an aquatics center are set to open this fall as part of the new athletic complex. Eventually, the university plans to add football and soccer stadiums, tennis courts, a softball field and a track-and-field facility