Banana Ball in Conway: A weekend where players dance, fans decide outs, and downtown braces for first pitch
At 3: 30 p. m. ET on Saturday, the pregame party plaza opens at Springs Brooks Stadium, and banana ball begins to seep out beyond the gates—into downtown menus, into the way fans pack gloves, and into the jitters of players preparing for a rulebook that asks them to perform as much as they pitch and swing.
What is happening in Conway this weekend—and why is it sold out?
The 2026 Banana Ball World Tour stops in Conway, South Carolina, with the Party Animals set to play the Loco Beach Coconuts on Saturday night and Sunday at Springs Brooks Stadium. Saturday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7: 00 p. m. ET, and Sunday’s game is scheduled for 1: 00 p. m. ET.
The Bananas organization used a lottery system for ticket sales, and both games have already sold out. On the field, the weekend is positioned as something deliberately unlike a typical baseball game: dancing players, music, and a steady current of fan interaction designed to keep the pace brisk and the attention locked in.
How do the rules of Banana Ball change what fans and players do?
For newcomers, the most practical advice is simple: bring a glove. In this format, a fan catching a foul ball can turn it into an out, collapsing the usual boundary between spectator and participant. Right-handed pitcher Andy Archer, preparing to take the mound for the newly formed Loco Beach Coconuts, described it as “breaking down the wall between fan and player. ”
That wall comes down through a set of rules that push speed and novelty. The rules include no bunting, a two-hour time limit, fans catching foul balls for outs, batters stealing first base, and a one-on-one showdown to settle tied games. The tour also uses trick plays, and Archer said fans will see something they would not see at a normal baseball game.
Mark Crocco, head coach of the Coconuts, framed the adjustment as a matter of tempo. “I think the biggest adjustment is probably the pace of play, ” Crocco said, describing moments that unfold quickly once games begin. The intent, he suggested, is not just to play differently but to make each stop feel distinct.
Who is preparing beyond the stadium—players returning home and businesses stocking banana menus?
The weekend also carries personal weight for Anthony Marks, a 2016 College World Series champion who is now an assistant coach for the Coconuts. Crocco said there will be a moment on Saturday night meant to mark Marks’ return to his home field.
Marks described arriving in Conway in physical terms—goosebumps, forearm hair standing up—calling the place “a second home. ” In a sport built on routines and familiar backdrops, that kind of return can make even a spectacle-driven event feel grounded, tethering the performance to a memory of what the field once meant.
Outside the stadium, local businesses in downtown Conway are preparing for the crowds expected for Saturday’s matchup. Aubrey Brown, owner of A Cup Full Cafe, said the shop built special menu items around the weekend: a banana latte called “Going Bananas, ” and a pancake platter described as “nuts for bananas, ” with Nutella, peanut butter, and more additions tailored to the theme.
In Conway, banana ball is not only a ticketed event happening at set times; it is also a short, intense shift in how a small city anticipates foot traffic—how it prepares inventory, how it staffs up, and how it turns a sports stop into a weekend identity.
Image caption (alt text): Fans gather outside Springs Brooks Stadium ahead of banana ball weekend in Conway, South Carolina.
