Video Interview: Hear from Sage Mardjetko… The SEC-Bound Pitcher Who Led the Beverly Bandits to Impressive Pair of Wins at PGF Nationals 18U

We’ve certainly heard the name “Sage Mardjetko” before.

Earlier this month, the South Carolina signee was announced as a 2023 Extra Inning Softball 1st Team High School All-American Pitcher after she helped her Lemont (Ill.) High team to a state championship, a 35-1 final record and Top 20 ranking in the final Extra Elite 100 High School Team Rankings.

As Extra Inning Softball noted of Mardjetko’s amazing championship performance:

Perhaps the best pitched game among any of the state title games in the nation played over the final two weeks of the season came from senior Sage Mardjetko of Lemont, Ill.

She needed 12 innings before her team could pull out a 1-0 win over Antioch in the Class 3A final. And in those 12 innings, Sage pitched a no-hitter and struck out 24 batters. Lemont finished No. 19 in the final EIS rankings.

Flash forward to today and her club team looking to continue its march through the PGF 18U Premier Nationals winner’s bracket.

Facing the powerful Hotshots-Nelson team in the first game of the day, Sage and the Bandits triumphed 6-1 as the pitcher went the distance, giving up just four hits, one earned run, two walks and nine strikeouts.

After that emotional win, the Bandits faced a strong Breakers Labs/Carter team that fought hard, but came up short in the 2-1 final as Sage was again was dominating, striking out 10 batters while allowing five hits, one earned run and just one walk.

Not a bad afternoon for the player for whom you’d have to give Player of the Day honors: 14 innings, 19 strikeouts, two earned runs, nine hits, three walks and, most importantly, two key wins in the winner’s bracket of the PGF 18U Premier division.

One Bandits coach commented after the win:

“Sage has unreal movement, hits her spots well and has excellent command of all her pitches: a rise, screw, curve and change.”

With her future South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Bev Smith watching, the pitcher shined, but she didn’t do it all alone.

Eileen Donahue, a 2023 first baseman signed with Illinois, had three RBIs in the Hotshots victory including a key two-run double with two outs to give the Bandits a comfortable lead.

And the defense was spectacular at times including an amazing catch by 2023 outfielder Lyla Blackwell in the Breakers game where the score was 2-1 with one out in the top of the 5^th.

Check out this sequence where the Virginia Tech signee made a crucial play that prevented the Breakers from getting a rally going and kept the Bandits on top for good.

And what did Head Coach Bill Conroy think of the pair of wins?

“The Hotshots win was a big and emotional game and we had to fight to keep our intensity, but we did the little things and came around in the second game to get the win.”

Extra Inning Softball also caught up with Sage after the big back-to-back wins she spearheaded… here’s what she had to say:

*****

Here’s the list of the games scheduled for Friday… and we’ll have more on the Thursday action in a later report:

18U Premier – Winners’ Bracket

• Tennessee Mojo Danley/Fisher vs. Beverly Bandits (Friday @ 10:15 am PST)
• Rock Gold – Manetta vs. Beverly Bandits – Dorsey

18U Premier – Losers’ Bracket

• Breakers Labs/Carter vs. Georgia Impact – Sampson/Gusaeff (Friday @ 8 am)
• NW Vandals – Vasas/Scott vs. Hotshots National – Nelson (Friday @ 8 am)
• Lady Dukes – Lamar vs. Georgia Impact – Caymol (Friday @ 8 am)
• Bombers Gold – Lewis vs. Arizona Storm – Mathis (Friday @ 8 am)

16U Premier – Winners’ Bracket

• Texas Sudden Impact – Jones vs. Sorcerers – Gann (Friday @ 8 am)
• Virginia Unity – Johnson/Ross vs. Select Fastpitch – Salazar/McCoy (Friday @ 8 am)

Note: the 18U and 16U Platinum Championship Games will be decided Friday afternoon and will be played at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine, California and EIS will be there to report on those title contests.

— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball