Winning pitch: Teen to sing at Fenway park

 Julie DiGiovine said she was singing even before she learned to talk.

The 19-year old Waltham native said there is even an old video her family likes to show of her carrying a tune at a Watertown Mall - at the ripe old age of 2.

"I think I'm singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,"' she said with a chuckle.

Apparently it pays to get started early.

Tomorrow night, DiGiovine will sing the national anthem to a sellout crowd at Fenway Park before the Red Sox take on the Toronto Blue Jays at 7 p.m.

"I'm very nervous, but I'm really excited," she said.

DiGiovine got the chance by winning 93.7 Mike-FM's "Oh Say Can You Sing?" contest where she beat out more than 20 other hopefuls for the opportunity to take center stage at Fenway. In addition to singing the Star Spangled Banner, she also knocked the contest judges dead with a version of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You."

She was selected among four finalists by a vote from the public on the radio station's Web site.

When an official from the station called her about the contest results, he at first made it sound like she didn't win. That's when he let her in on the joke and broke the good news.

"It was definitely a stressful phone call, but it was exciting at the end," she said.

Thankful to her family, friends and to those who voted for her, DiGiovine will be at Fenway today for a sound check in preparation for her big moment.

Her mother, stepfather, and her best friend who accompanied her to the audition for the radio station's contest, will be on hand at Fenway to watch her sing tomorrow.

DiGiovine is not a novice at singing the anthem before crowds. She said she has performed the song at high school football games. Now studying voice and music business at Berklee, DiGiovine said while it's always been a dream to be able to sing before a Red Sox home game, she hopes it's just one giant step in her burgeoning music career.

"It's absolutely my dream to be able hopefully one day to get that record deal and write my own songs," DiGiovine said. "It's just something I'm really passionate about."

Richard Conn can be contacted at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.