Burlingame beats Presentation

Smith delivered the key hit, a two-run single, and Gina Lenardon fired a complete-game, two-hitter, leading the No. 5 seed Burlingame High softball team to a 3-0 win over No. 4 Presentation in the Central Coast Section Division II quarterfinals on Saturday at Hawes Park. Burlingame (23-7) faces No. 1 Mitty (22-7) in the semifinals Wednesday at 7 p.m. at San Jose's PAL Stadium in a rematch of last year's semifinal contest that the Panthers won 6-4 en route to the championship.

And just like a season ago, Burlingame is peaking at the right moment. The squad combines four players who were on the frosh-soph team last year along with a veteran group led by two of the best hitters in the section in Smith and Kristen Carranza. But any team looking to win a title knows it needs that one reliable starter to deliver time and again.

Lenardon's emergence this season is the biggest reason why Burlingame never regressed from the moment it won last year's D-II title. Mixing a baffling change-up with a pinpoint fastball, Lenardon was rock-solid yet again, allowing just two singles while striking out seven and never allowing a runner past second base.

Smith provided the bulk of the offense with the aforementioned two-run single in the third inning. Carranza added some insurance with an RBI double in the fifth. Leadoff hitter Alicia Perdue had one of her best games of the season with three hits, two of which came off bunts.

The speedy Perdue, a stalwart on Burlingame's soccer team the last couple of years, scored two of her team's three runs. Carranza added two hits, Ashleigh Behravesh had a double and right-fielder Linnea Sauer highlighted another excellent fielding day for the Burlingame defense with a running catch in the fifth.

"This is the way you like to be playing right now," Burlingame coach Frank Firpo said. "The kids are really focused and you can tell they really want it. Gina really had her change-up working. She located her spots and really has to fool people to strike them out. But her change-up is her best pitch.

"It kept them off-balance and it's really effective because it has the hitters thinking a lot. Allison delivered the timely hit and our catcher (Blythe Davis) called a really good game. We had some changeover on the roster and lost five starters from last year, but the chemistry is still there."

Added Smith: "We have a lot of fun out there. We all get along really well. Gina puts the ball where the defense can make plays and that's how we like it."