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College softball is a whole different beast. To the casual viewer that only tunes in during the postseason, you might think that the girls are crazy with all the stuff going on in a dugout during a game.
When tuning in to see the Arizona Wildcats advance to the Super Regionals this past weekend, fans may have noticed a lot of crazy props in the Wildcat dugout.
And while there's a lot of them these days, the original one is still the one that carries the most weight.
Dino the Dinosaur.
On my way to Cal to kick some booottaaayyy #imarealboy #ownseat pic.twitter.com/UIfCLU4XCC
— Dino the Dinosaur (@dinodathug911) April 11, 2014
"Dino's our rock," said first baseman Hallie Wilson. "As much as he's a stuffed animal, he's what reminds us that it's a game. It's a freaking dinosaur, but we love him."
"He was our first," added Mo Mercado. "The other ones are just bonus props. As we go along we'll probably get more."
Based on Dino's Twitter account, he became part of the Wildcat family on February 14th this year, the second weekend of the season.
GAMEDAY GAMEDAY let's go my little kitties
— Dino the Dinosaur (@dinodathug911) February 14, 2014
"I think we found him somewhere," said senior pitcher Shelby Babcock. "We just liked it, and came up with the name Dino, and he's been our mascot the whole year. And then we made him a Twitter account."
And he's all decked out now. Check out the evolution of Dino this year:
I don't know 'bout you guys but I'm really excited to watch my Cats kick some bootayyy pic.twitter.com/SZNRLrfdk1
— Dino the Dinosaur (@dinodathug911) February 15, 2014
pregame bumpinnn' on @MercadoMo's back #swerve pic.twitter.com/f1m1gf04yq
— Dino the Dinosaur (@dinodathug911) February 15, 2014
@elwhyy09 is mad I like mo better ❤️ pic.twitter.com/sU9M0tyzZx
— Dino the Dinosaur (@dinodathug911) February 19, 2014
got my own seat on the bus pic.twitter.com/u5pAIVSdLC
— Dino the Dinosaur (@dinodathug911) February 20, 2014
I finally got my picture taken dang I am fine.. Where the ladies attt pic.twitter.com/rgcIwwz5dn
— Dino the Dinosaur (@dinodathug911) February 27, 2014
It's fiesta time! Rockin the new hat for sunny days! Thanks to @epinon32!!! pic.twitter.com/8YYDHFd7g6
— Dino the Dinosaur (@dinodathug911) February 28, 2014
Check out my new tie. Feelin myself today pic.twitter.com/Y8z7Hxh6XQ
— Dino the Dinosaur (@dinodathug911) March 1, 2014
there's no other place id rather be sitting, love watching my kitties play pic.twitter.com/9P5IPCfCIC
— Dino the Dinosaur (@dinodathug911) March 3, 2014
Cats take on Ball State in 20 minutes. @dinodathug911 is ready. Are you? pic.twitter.com/aJXdKuwOEy
— Arizona Softball (@UA_Softball) March 4, 2014
Selfie with this babe #gameday #safetyfirst @dinodathug911 pic.twitter.com/7EFmTVK2yb
— Payton Kornfeind (@PaytonKornfeind) March 22, 2014
its not even close to game time and I'm ready for the white out.. are you?! #RAWR #letskickBUTT pic.twitter.com/0RvdWfB8Ie
— Dino the Dinosaur (@dinodathug911) April 4, 2014
"He's been our inspiration," continued Babcock. "He's just been our rock."
Dino will continue to be that rock as he'll make the trip with the Wildcats out to Lafayette on Wednesday for the games on Friday and Saturday.
But seriously, we all need a little red dinosaur in our lives. So give the little guy a follow on Twitter, and maybe he'll inspire you the same way he's inspired this group of players.