Katherine Connors Can Throw a Pitch in a Bikini

Let him who is without sin cast the first ball — er, stone. In a strange turn of events, a beauty queen will throw the first pitch in Friday's Washington Nationals baseball game.

It all started on Tuesday when Stephen Strasburg, 22, was placed on the disabled list because of an inflamed right shoulder. Now what does that have to do with a pageant girl? Stay with me. Replacement pitcher Miguel Batista, 39, jogged onto the field only to be greeted by boos from the crowd. (He won the game, by the way.) Later that evening reporters asked Batista about his unwelcoming entrance.

"Imagine if you go to see Miss Universe, then you end up having Miss Iowa, you might get those kind of boos," Batista said. "But it's OK. They have to understand that as an organization we have to make sure that the kid is fine. You don't want to expose him out there and screw up his future."

And that's when things got ugly. Fans filled the Sports Illustrated Hot Clicks mailbox with pictures of (former and current) scantily clad Miss Iowans. Even the 2010 Miss Iowa Katherine Connors responded, "I know I can throw a pitch or two. The question is, can Miguel Batista walk the runway in a swimsuit?"

Batista swears his comments were taken out of context and promptly sent Connors flowers. He's even offered to catch one of her pitches in tomorrow night's game. But the reconciliation doesn't end there. Miss Iowa asked Batista to be a guest judge in October's Miss Iowa pageant. He has yet to respond.

Photo by PR Photos.