Kimmie Meissner is a world champion figure skater, not an All-Star pitcher.
But Friday night she fooled the early comers of an eventual crowd of 25,415 at Camden Yards, as she threw a high strike during her honorary first pitch before the Orioles? game with the Angels.
The 16-year-old also tossed out a first pitch at the home opener for the Philadelphia Phillies this year. Using her new-found baseball lingo, she said Friday?s pitch was the better of the two.
“I brought the heat, so it was good,” Meissner said.
Not only did the pitch signal the start of the ballgame, but the beginning of a wild weekend for the Fallston High School junior.
While her classmates were enjoying a long Easter break (Thursday through Tuesday), Meissner was preparing to spend her weekend performing.
Saturday morning, the Meissner family went to the Verizon Center (formerly the MCI Center) in Washington, D.C. for a performance the Champions on Ice Tour.
Meissner noted that these types of performances are relaxing, and allow her to become friendlier with those skaters against whom she usually competes.
“It?s very relaxed, and just a lot of fun and you can do whatever you want,” Meissner said. “You get to know each other a lot more.”
Saturday evening she was back in action with her fellow skaters for an 8 p.m. repeat performance, before heading back to Baltimore for the night.
While most of her classmates might have spent Easter Sunday attending church, spending time with family, and hunting Easter eggs, Meissner was on the road yet again, making another stop with the Champions on Ice Tour, this time in Philadelphia for a 3 p.m. show.
She doesn?t mind the busy schedule, though.
“I just like going around to all these different cities,” she said, while in the car to Philadelphia on Sunday. “I just like hanging out with everybody. It?s like were a big family.”
Meissner hopes to keep up with the performances this summer. The tour is scheduled to run until August 16, when the mid-western swing of performances makes its final stop in Las Vegas.
The Champ at the Yard:
» Meissner attended the Orioles game with her parents, two brothers, an aunt and uncle, and a slew of friends. She admitted she was a big nervous sitting so close to the action in the front row behind the dugout.
» Orioles? relief pitcher John Halama was on the receiving end of Meissner?s first pitch toss. Meissner was given a jersey with her name and the number 1 on the back. “I?ll probably hang it up on the wall if I don?t wear it,” she said of her newest keepsake.
» The Orioles eventually won, 6-5, on a Ramon Hernandez home run. Meissner missed the first three innings while signing autographs. “They came back, so it was cool,” she said. “We all started to cheer at the end.”
» Meissner?s upcoming tour dates include stops in Boston, Connecticut and Long Island
