With Western’s baseball season still three months away, motivation may be hard to come by for the team. But the Toppers say they have all the motivation they need.

“Our goal this year is to win the regional,” sophomore shortstop Logan Robbins said. “We came close last year, so we are working harder this year to win it this year.”

Fall practice will conclude this weekend with the Fall World Series, an annual best-of-three intrasquad tournament.

“It is a fun way to finish team practices for the fall,” Head Coach Chris Finwood said. “The guys definitely get after it.”

The winning team will eat steaks at a team cookout before Saturday’s Homecoming football game, with the losers receiving hot dogs. The losing team will also have to give the winners the shirts off their backs, Finwood said.

But Robbins said pride is the biggest incentive to play well in the series.

“All of us want to win so we can brag to each other about it the rest of the year,” Robbins said.

The Toppers have been practicing together since October, but this weekend will be the last time they will play as a team until preseason practice begins in January.

Finwood said he’s been impressed with how the team has progressed throughout the fall season.

“We have been improving every day, and when you get the kind of guys who want to improve, it makes it so much easier on us,” Finwood said.

Robbins said the team has been focusing more on personal improvements throughout the fall.

“We have been helping each other out in individual workouts in practice,” Robbins said.

Finwood said the goal of fall practice is to determine where players will be able to make the most impact in the spring.

“It is important to figure out who fits in each position now before the preseason starts,” Finwood said.

Western went 42-20 last season and won three games in the Oxford Regional of the NCAA tournament as a No. 3 seed. The Toppers also finished the year ranked 23rd in the Collegiate Baseball poll. Last season’s team relied on power hitting, but Finwood said there may be a different style of play this year.

“We lost a lot of power, but we are still going to be putting pressure on the defense,” Finwood said. “We may bunt more, especially early in the season.”

The players say they’re looking forward to their first game action since the spring.

“It will be good to have live games this weekend,” junior catcher Matt Rice said. “These type of games are good for the young guys.”

Western continues the Fall World Series at 5 p.m. tonight and at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Nick Denes Field. The event is free and open to the public.