Watch Titus Andronicus’ Patrick Stickles Throw The First Pitch At The Durham Bulls’ Merge Records Night

North Carolina-based Merge Records has a fun longstanding relationship with the Durham Bulls, the local minor league baseball franchise. Every season the ball club hosts a Merge Records night featuring appearances by various indie rock luminaries. Yesterday was the fifth installment of the event, and the highlight had to be Titus Andronicus mastermind Patrick Stickles' opening pitch, which you can watch below in all its glory.

Patrick from @titus_ndronicus ftw. @mergerecords #dimedout

A post shared by Steve Jones (@mississippisteve) on Jun 4, 2017 at 2:45pm PDT

Patrick (@titus_ndronicus) throwing out the first pitch at Merge Night 5 at @durhambulls Athletic Park. ??

A post shared by Merge Records (@mergerecords) on Jun 4, 2017 at 2:46pm PDT

Also, Benji Hughes and his daughter sang the national anthem:

Benji Hughes and his daughter did a phenomenal job on the national anthem for Merge Night 5 with the @durhambulls.

A post shared by Merge Records (@mergerecords) on Jun 4, 2017 at 3:24pm PDT

And Boston Red Sox organist Josh Kantor -- who previously covered Death Cab For Cutie at Fenway Park -- performed selections from the Merge catalog throughout the evening:

Josh Kantor is kicking out the Merge jams at DBAP. #mergerecordsnight

A post shared by Merge Records (@mergerecords) on Jun 4, 2017 at 1:26pm PDT

If you've never read it, SPIN's feature from a few years back about Merge's relationship with Durham, which takes place in part at a previous Durham Bulls x Merge Records event, is a great read.

Sunday is the big day. Don't miss the 5th annual Merge Night at @durhambulls Athletic Park. The game starts at 5pm, but get there early for the pregame festivities.

A post shared by Merge Records (@mergerecords) on Jun 3, 2017 at 4:22pm PDT