FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) -- The Arkansas softball team has put together their best season in years, already winning more games at Bogle Park than any other Razorback team (for more on that, click here). And as senior Tori Cooper will tell you, the play on the field is just a part of the story.
"This is literally the most fun team I've ever played for."
"They have a lot of fun," admits head coach Courtney Deifel, before trailing off and laughing to herself. "It's fun to be around."
Go to a game and see for yourself. Just make sure to keep an eye on the dugout.
"Once you get in the dugout you pretty much feel at home," says sophomore Autumn Storms. "We do some crazy stuff in their to help keep each other up."
The hijinks start with sophomores Aly Manzo and Storms, whom, in the midst of a historic season for the program, have become a must watch duo in their own way.
"Me and Aly have always had this really energetic vibe between the two of us," says Storms, "and once we got to the end of the dugout together I think it really helped us feed off of each other."
"This game is supposed to be fun, we're just taking it like we were ten years old playing the game," says Manzo. "It's the same game it's just on a different level and we're gonna have as much fun as we can."
Whether it's backwards jerseys or Popsicle sticks, dancing or using cups and bats as props, there's something greater at work here, according to Manzo.
"I'm very superstitious. When we find something that works, we keep doing it."
"If it start's working, it stays there and it doesn't change," adds Storms. "Now, if we have a bad inning, say we don't get that many runs or our hitters aren't doing that well, we'll switch it up, make it better."
The rest of the team feels perhaps a more tangible effect, says Deifel.
"It's not entertainment as much as it just keeps our dugout in it and keeps our team in it. it's just such good energy and everyone just feeds off that, and it just fuels everyone around them to just be hype and have energy."
Freshman phenom Mary Haff can vouch for the effect the loose dugout has on the team.
"Playing against SEC teams sometimes can get really intense, and I think that it makes me less tense in the cirlce, knowing that they're not putting all this pressure on me and really keeping it lighthearted"
With everything clicking for this team, Storms doesn't expect anything to change down the stretch.
"We don't care how weird we look we don't care what it takes, we're gonna keep doing it."