Why Sage Mardjetko was prepared to send Tennessee softball back to WCWS

There wasn't a more fitting way for Tennessee softball pitcher Sage Mardjetko to end a potential rally by Georgia in the NCAA super regional.

With two outs in the sixth inning and two runners on base, Mardjetko painted the bottom outside corner of the strike zone with her signature 48 mph changeup. Her pitch left Georgia's Bailey Lindemuth staring at the plate for her eighth strikeout of the game.

Mardjetko ripped off her mask as she stomped towards catcher Elsa Morrison, yelling and pumping her fist through the air before chest-bumping Morrison.

There were three more outs separating the No. 7 seed Lady Vols from a repeat trip to the Women's College World Series. But after Mardjetko's momentum-killing strikeout, there was no doubt about the outcome.

When Emily Digby of Georgia opened the seventh inning with a triple and later scored on a wild pitch, there was no waver in Mardjetko, who struck out the next batter.

Tennessee (47-10) finished the job for a 2-1 win over the No. 10 seed Bulldogs (41-20) at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on May 22, and it will be one of eight teams in the Women's College World Series. Sophia Knight hit a home run for the second straight game, and the two-out, two-run shot to right field in the second inning held up.

The Lady Vols will face the winner of No. 2 seed Texas and Arizona State on May 28 at Devon Park in Oklahoma City. Game time will be noon or 2:30 p.m. ET.

Tennessee coach Karen Weekly called Mardjetko's performance "absolutely incredible" after she kept an explosive Georgia offense off-balance. Weekly has witnessed the transformation in Mardjetko from being too hard on herself last season to competing with joy, and it's part of why she trusts the junior – because Mardjetko trusts herself now.

"It’s inspired everybody around her," Weekly said. "It's the reason that I have so much faith in her, and I know she’s going to come through in those moments, because she wants to be in them, and she’s just in the right frame of mind to go attack anybody."

Mardjetko (14-2) threw nine strikeouts with two walks, two hits allowed and one earned run in 5⅔ innings after relieving Erin Nuwer in the second inning.

Tennessee didn't lose a single game en route to its third trip to the WCWS in the last four seasons. The Lady Vols' 10th appearance in Oklahoma City comes after a season full of ups and downs, from a program record 26-0 start to losing two straight SEC series in April.

"There’s just something special when a group of people believe," Weekly said. "And no matter what you go through, they continue to believe, and they believe in each other. They believe in the vision. There’s times when it would be easy to lose hope and we definitely had our tough times this year, but it’s probably been the best group at having hard conversations with each other."

In a time when offense has begun to dominate in college softball, Tennessee did it the old school way, leaning on an elite pitching staff that leads the nation in ERA (1.35).

Mardjetko said the tight-knit group of pitchers knew they were really good last season, but she and Nuwer in particular needed more experience. So Mardjetko picked the brains of pitching coach Megan Rhodes Smith and senior ace Karlyn Pickens, hungry to understand everything it took to be the best.

And this year, Mardjetko was the one in the circle when Tennessee clinched its WCWS berth.

"Words can’t describe it," Mardjetko said. "It’s just the greatest feeling ever."

Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social‬. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How Sage Mardjetko's 'incredible' game led Tennessee softball back to WCWS