To throw the first pitch ever at a new stadium

The Nationals officially opened their new stadium last night, but George Washington freshman Eric Cantrell already had thrown the first competitive pitch at Nationals Park more than a week earlier. The Oakton High graduate (and lifelong Cubs fan) made his fourth collegiate start when the Colonials faced Saint Joseph's in the stadium's test run; he got the win after yielding four runs and four hits over eight innings.

It was insane. There were so many people, and it's such a big place. The backstop is so far away, which is different from what I'm used to. The mound is nice; it was easy to pitch there. Everything's perfect. We're used to playing on fields that have their own 'unique' characteristics.

The whole week before, that's all I could think about, just what a privilege it was. I tried not to think about that at the field. No matter where you're playing, you always have to just think of it as the same every time, so you can maximize your performance. During the game I tried to focus on the game completely and nothing else. I wasn't really completely focused, just because of all the excitement, but I figured it out after a while and started to focus on pitching.

[The first pitch] was a fastball down the middle, I think. We tried to keep all the pitch calling the same as it normally is. I guess since it was the first [pitch] ever at the park, people kind of enjoyed it. It was so much wilder than I would have expected. It was a booming cheer, I guess. I'm a pretty fast worker on the mound, so I just tried to get right back on the mound and get to my next pitch.

Every time I go there, I'll probably just remember going out there and being the first one to throw. Hopefully I'll try not to brag about it too much.

-- Interview by Dan Steinberg