Christmann Blossoming at Perfect Time for BHS

Burlingame High softball coach Brian Firenze has for years considered Melissa Christmann a great pitching talent, but he didn’t really know how she’d hold up under pressure.

After excelling in the most important outing of her career, Firenze now considers Christmann a big-game pitcher.

Christmann earned those credentials after tossing a five-hitter to lead No. 12 seed Burlingame to an 11-0 upset over fifth-seeded Monterey in a Central Coast Section Division II playoff opener on Wednesday.

She was also the winning pitcher in a pivotal 3-2 Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division finale over Terra Nova on May 12 that helped the Panthers secure a postseason berth.

“I think she really wants to be the No. 1 (pitcher),” Firenze said. “She wants to be the one we go to in these types of games.

“A week ago I don’t know if I’d have said that. I don’t even know if she’d have said that.”

Burlingame (12-6) will count on another big game from Christmann (7-8) when it plays No. 4 seed Hillsdale (23-5) in the quarterfinals at 10 a.m. Saturday at Hawes Park in Redwood City.

Before the Monterey game, Christmann’s career highlights included hitting a game-winning home run against Aragon when she was on the freshman team, and throwing a no-hitter for her West Bay Nuggets club team last summer.

Her most recent accomplishment, however, was different.

“This one’s pretty big because it’s CCS and a lot of people are watching so it’s pretty high up there,” said Christmann, a junior right-hander.

And none of her previous accomplishments set off the kind of commotion as Wednesday’s, with the team greeted at school the next day as conquering heroes.

“It meant a lot,” she said. “When we came to school on (Thursday) everybody was congratulating us. It was a really big deal.”

Christmann, who’s been pitching competitively since she was nine, features a fastball, drop ball, curveball and screwball, and occasionally mixes in a knuckleball and a riseball.

Although not overpowering, Christmann has good command, keeping opposing hitters off balance pitching to contact.

“She can be dominant at times,” Firenze said. “She’s not going to be that girl that strikes out 12 to 14 kids a game, but she moves the ball around and gets kids to hit into outs.”

Firenze said Christmann has learned to trust her defense, which has made her even more effective.

Christmann credits catcher Dana Lenardon for helping settle her down, especially at the start of the Monterey game.

Shortstop Nicki Lunghi’s excellent defense in the Monterey game was crucial to her success too, Christmann said.

Christmann’s performance in the Monterey game was especially impressive considering the Toreadors had won their previous seven games and 12 of their last 13.

They hadn’t been shut out all year.

“Going into it I was really nervous because it was a big game and we didn’t know how (good) the team was so I didn’t know what to expect at all,” Christman said.

“When they first went out there we thought they were the best team we’d seen yet.”

But when Monterey left the field, they probably thought they’d just seen the best pitcher they’d faced.

“I thought that was a big accomplishment considering the team we were playing,” she said.

Christmann said she wants to play college ball, but hasn’t decided where she’d like to go.

“I think Melissa can go as far as Melissa wants to go, she has the potential,” Firenze said.

Burlingame will be facing a heavily favored team when it plays Hillsdale today. The Panthers have already lost to their PAL Bay rivals three times (1-0, 7-0 and 3-0).

But if recent history is any indication, the Panthers shouldn’t be easily dismissed as playoff patsies.

Especially not now, with their new big-game pitcher.

“We wouldn’t be here without her,” Firenze said. “No question about it.”