PRESS RELEASE
DATE: July 29, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MISS IOWA USA® TO THROW OUT FIRST PITCH AT WASHINGTON NATIONALS GAME TOMORROW NIGHT

It’s official, Katherine Connors, Miss Iowa USA, has accepted an invitation to throw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball game tomorrow evening, Friday, July 30th. The invitation came after Nationals’ pitcher, Miguel Batista, indirectly commented about the beauty queen following his game on Tuesday evening. Fans, who were expecting to see Nationals’ rookie phenom, Steven Strasburg, take the mound for the start of Tuesday’s game, showed their displeasure is Strasburg’s last minute scratch by booing Bastista, the 39-year-old journeyman pitcher who was faced with the challenge of filling Strasburg’s shoes by starting the game on the mound against the Atlanta Braves. Batista, following a successful pitching performance and Nationals win, was quoted that he understood the fans’ response, saying, "Imagine if you go to see Miss Universe, then you end up having Miss Iowa, you might get those kind of boos."

Connors, the 2010 Miss Iowa USA titleholder, took the comment light-heartedly and released a statement to the media challenging Batista to a “duel of skills,” if you will. Connors stated, “I know I can throw a pitch or two. The question is, can Miguel Batista walk the runway in a swimsuit?” Batista’s response was the appropriate one, of course, saying Miss Iowa USA is “gorgeous” and sending Connors flowers to her home in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Even though Connors has a full appearance schedule this weekend, pageant organizers felt it would only be appropriate for Batista and Connors to meet in person and show there was no ill will and the exchange was simply a friendly jab back and forth. “It will be a quick trip for Miss Iowa USA,” pageant officials announced on Thursday. “Katherine will appear at the grand opening of the Sephora store in West Des Moines on Friday morning and then will fly to D.C. for the baseball game Friday evening. She will then return early Saturday morning to her home state in order to make an appearance in Boone, Iowa, on behalf of the March of Dimes before leaving for week-long modeling job in London the first week of August. Connors is looking forward to meeting Mr. Batista during her action-packed weekend.”

Now that Connors has accepted the offer to appear at tomorrow night’s game, the only remaining question is whether Batista will accept the offer presented by the Miss Iowa USA Pageant. Craig Heitkamp, the pageant’s executive co-director offered the following invitation to Batista on Wednesday via the media, “Congratulations to Mr. Batista for an outstanding pitching performance Tuesday. Sometimes it’s great to see the underdog win. We would like to formally invite Mr. Batista to serve on the judging panel at the Miss Iowa USA Pageant October 23 & 24 in Ames, Iowa.”

To follow Ms. Connors on her travels, or view photos of her appearance at the game tomorrow evening, simply visit www.missiowausa.com.

The Miss Universe Organization, producers of the MISS UNIVERSE®, MISS USA® and MISS TEEN USA® competitions, is an international company that advances and supports today's women. These women are savvy, goal-oriented and aware. The delegates who become part of the Miss Universe Organization display those characteristics in their everyday lives, both as individuals who participate in the competitions to advance their careers, personal and humanitarian goals, and as women who seek to improve the lives of others. The pageants are a Donald J. Trump and NBC Universal joint venture. Utilizing its nationwide grass roots infrastructure, the Miss Universe Organization is committed to increasing awareness of breast and ovarian cancers.