Callie Ferko had a whole week to think about her next at-bat against Oswego, Yorkville’s first in the bottom of the 12th inning.

She sure was envisioning it Tuesday.

“I was talking about it earlier today with Ellie [Fox], we were like we want to both hit doubles,” Ferko said. “We were like ‘How are we going to get this done? How are we going to walk it off?’”

Ferko didn’t overthink it with all that time on her hands, though. The Yorkville senior walked on four pitches leading off the bottom of the 12th.

And then she came home with the winning run on Austyn Strike’s grounder as Yorkville beat visiting Oswego 4-3 in 12 innings.

[ Yorkville’s Bella Rosauer, Oswego’s Jaelynn Anthony clutch in relief as game suspended in the 12th, tied 3-3 ]

A game that required nine calendar days, and three days at the park, ended in about 20 minutes.

Originally postponed because of thunder May 4 and suspended after 11 innings because of darkness tied 3-3 the next day, it was worth the wait for Yorkville.

Yorkville (24-8, 12-2), moving a game up on Oswego (17-10, 11-3) in the Southwest Prairie Conference race with one to play, swept the season series to clinch the league title.

A big deal to Ferko and Yorkville’s other seniors, beaten three times by Oswego each of the last two years.

“We were definitely ready to get the job done,” Ferko said. “They’re so talented and they’ve had plenty of wins against us in my time here. It’s really good to beat them after anticipating this game for so long. We’ve been marking it on our calendar.”

Weather, as on the originally scheduled date, played a part in how it ended.

The game Tuesday was played in a steady drizzle. Oswego’s Jaelynn Anthony walked Ferko on four pitches, and a wild pitch moved Ferko to second as Anthony struck out Fox.

Ferko took third on a second wild pitch the first pitch to Strike. On the second pitch, Strike hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield. The throw to the plate beat Ferko, but the ball came out on the tag.

“A little rough. Obviously not the outcome we wanted,” Oswego coach Annie Scaramuzzi said. “We had plenty of opportunities in the first 11 innings. It should not have come down to that.”

Ferko was late breaking for home, but went for broke when she saw where the ball was hit.

“We had a hit and run on and I’m like ‘I’m not going’ but then I saw it was on the right side and I was like ‘I’m going hard,’” Ferko said. “Almost took me a minute but I was running full speed ahead.”

Ferko, who singled in Yorkville’s first run way back in the first inning, had struck out against Anthony with a runner on third and two out in the bottom of the seventh with the score tied 3-3.

Regnier, who gave Ferko the take sign until she saw a strike Tuesday, liked her senior’s approach against the hard-throwing Purdue commit.

“The situation is you don’t want to get behind in the count against [Anthony], but she also might be off. It’s tough to throw in the rain, there is a lot of annoyances with that,” Regnier said. “It was good of her to go up there and have a good approach.”

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Softball: Oswego at Yorkville Oswego's Jaelynn Anthony (20) celebrates getting out of a jam during softball game between Oswego at Yorkville. May 5, 2026 in Yorkville. (Gary E Duncan Sr for Shaw Local )

Likewise Strike, a freshman, did not start the game but pinch hit in the sixth – and importantly, made contact.

“That is the name of the game especially with the current circumstances,” Regnier said. “I don’t think it’s slippery but it is a little slick and the ball is wet. If you put the ball in play you give yourself an opportunity for them to make a mistake and just put pressure on them.”

Yorkville sophomore Bella Rosauer, who came on in relief of Fox in the fifth and struck out nine in 7⅓ shutout innings, ran into trouble right away as the game resumed.

Anthony reached on an infield single with one out, and Ahlivia East singled to put runners on first and second.

But Rosauer came back to strike out the next batter, and coaxed an inning-ending pop up that she caught.

“Honestly the runners on base aren’t a big deal,” Rosauer said. “They might be in scoring position but it doesn’t mean they’re going to score. I’m just focusing on what I’m going to do to get the batter out.”

Scaramuzzi and the Panthers are focused on a potential third meeting with Yorkville in two weeks.

Yorkville and Oswego are the top two seeds in the sectional that the Foxes host.

“We fully expect to see this team again,” Scaramuzzi said. “We will be prepared and better from this loss.”