For Sean Conlin, throwing a strike is nothing to worry about.

The 18-year-old from Cocolalla was a relief pitcher on the Bonners Ferry High School baseball team, a squad that finished third in the state 3A tournament this spring. He now plays for the Sandpoint Lakers American Legion club, and plans to continue his career at the college level.

So when Conlin took the mound at Silverwood Theme Park north of Coeur d'Alene on Saturday afternoon, he easily launched a few fastballs down the middle of a simulated strike zone.

Nothing to it.

"I was pretty relaxed," said Conlin, who graduated this May from Boulder Creek Academy in Bonners Ferry. "(I was thinking) just get my arm up correctly, 'cuz I have trouble dropping it down and pushing the ball."

Conlin and 30 other participants tossed baseballs in a grass-covered field behind Silverwood. Throwing from a wooden pitcher's mound, they aimed for a target about the size of an average strike zone.

After three rounds and a tiebreaker, Conlin won the contest.

His prize: Throwing the first pitch at a Seattle Mariners home game on Friday, June 17, versus the Philadelphia Phillies. Airfare, lodging for two and $100 worth of spending money is included. Once the game is under way, Conlin and a guest will enjoy the view from box seats.

Even though he's a St. Louis Cardinals fan, Conlin is looking forward to the experience. He once threw out the first pitch at a minor league game, but Safeco Field - with thousands of Seattle fans filling the seats - will be a much grander stage.

Chucking that first ball, Conlin said, "is nerve-wracking, but it's also exciting at the same time."

Austin Johnston of Spokane, just a sixth-grader, took second place and gave Conlin a run for his money. Dalton Small, a Post Falls High School student, finished third.

"It went well. We had a pretty good turnout of people pitching," said Dianna Temple, special events and promotions manager at Silverwood.

Participants had three chances to throw a strike in the first round. After that, they only had one shot.

Conlin's very first throw went straight through the target. Ditto his second. The third round, however, was a close one - Conlin's pitch barely hit the strike zone.

"The last one almost ricocheted off, but squeezed by," he recalled.

Some fine deliveries from young Johnston forced an extra round, but Conlin took care of business. He coolly fired his final strike to seal the win.

Conlin's long-term goal, he said, is to play baseball for a Division I university. He hopes to attend a community college in Washington or Colorado, then move on to a larger institution.

"I grew up in the south around Nashville, so an SEC school is what I would prefer," Conlin said.

In addition to the Seattle prize package, Conlin took home free tickets to Silverwood. Johnston and Small also received Silverwood tickets for their efforts.

"It's a great opportunity for them," Temple said.