Zooey Deschanel honors our nation with no-frills rendition of national anthem

Adorable New Girl star Zooey Deschanel has caught some flak as of late for being, well, adorable New Girl star Zooey Deschanel. Let the record show, however, that the girl did Francis Scott Key proud last night when she sang the national anthem at Game 4 of the World Series. Decked out in a red, white and blue mini-dress, Deschanel took the field at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas before launching into her simple, pitch-perfect take on "The Star-Spangled Banner," with nary a lyric flub nor an Aguilera-esque vocal embellishment.

Although ZD had to leave the game early to catch a flight home, as seen on TV when cameras panned to her empty seat during the seventh-inning stretch, the network's attempt at cross-promotion was hugely successful for both Fox and the Texas Rangers, who tied the series last night by beating the Cardinals 4-0. Deschanel's performance, which was met by raucous applause from the crowd, sets the bar high for pop artist Demi Lovato, who is set to perform the national anthem at Game 5 tonight. While the jury's out on whether Lovato's rendition will vocally trump Deschanel's, sartorially speaking Demi hasn't got a fighting chance. ZD was wearing a red, white, and blue cupcake mini-dress, for Christ's sake! With matching red pumps and a pleated skirt with stripes that matched her ginormous blue eyes and... okay, now I understand why Pujols finished 0 for 4 against Derek Holland last night. Damn you, ZD! Not even MLB first basemen with uproariously hilarious last names are impervious to your charms.