OSWEGO – Sage Mardjetko and her Lemont teammates found a jazzy way to pass the time during the blues of a 30-minute rain delay Saturday morning.

“We were just having fun, making Tik Toks, joking around. It brought us closer together,” Mardjetko said. “When it was time to start again, we were ready to play.”

Mardjetko was a bit out of rhythm pitching in a steady drizzle before the delay that came after the third inning. But she found her groove once things dried out. The Lemont junior and South Carolina recruit struck out 17 in a two-hit effort, leading her team past host Oswego, 4-1, in their nonconference game.

Mardjetko (7-1) allowed her only run in the bottom of the third on an error, walk and two-out throwing error that tied it 1-all.

The teams went to their dugouts prior to the fourth to wait out the rain. Once play resumed, Mardjetko shut the door, striking out the side in both the sixth and seven innings to end it.

“That is her. She is a competitor,” Lemont coach Chris Traina said. “If she doesn’t come out of the blocks right away doing well, she’s going to keep throwing and get stronger.”

Lemont (16-4) gave Mardjetko all the support she would need in the fifth.

Raegan Duncan drilled a one-out double to right-center field, Avaree Taylor followed with a single, and Allison Pawlowicz singled in Duncan. Mallory Corse’s RBI groundout brought in a second run, making it 3-1.

“I was just trying to put the ball in play and hit that first pitch she was giving us,” said Duncan, Lemont’s sophomore third baseman. “Hitting the outside pitches that she was giving us to right center was all I was trying to do.”

Lemont tacked on a run in the sixth. Frankie Rita doubled to lead off and with two outs Duncan reached on a hard-hit infield single for a 4-1 lead.

“They built momentum off their offense,” Oswego coach Sara Pawlowski said. “She [Mardjetko] is a good pitcher. We have to capitalize when we can.”

The Panthers perhaps had their best chances early.

With the ball wet and conditions sloppy, Mardjetko had a few pitches slide in the dirt and a few others sail high on her. Corrin Kennedy singled to lead off Oswego’s fourth inning and took second on a wild pitch.

“It’s very difficult to throw some of the pitches when it’s wet, and relying on some of the pitches I’m not as confident in was a struggle, but I feel I worked through it,” Mardjetko said. “It could have been better, but it was pouring rain. Definitely easier to throw my drop ball than the rise ball because of the positioning on my hand.”

Mardjetko got stronger as the game progressed, which is not unique to Saturday’s varying conditions. She had back-to-back strikeouts to end threats in the fourth and fifth innings after leadoff hitters reached.

Behind Mardjetko, Lemont – second in Class 3A last season – is currently ranked No. 2 in the latest Illinois Softball Coaches Association poll.

“Definitely it’s something about me that I feel I get stronger as the game goes on,” Mardjetko said. “The game gets more intense, I get used to the mound, the strike zone. I love it.”

Traina liked the approach of her lineup, as Lemont managed 12 hits and had at least two runners on base in each of the first six innings. Rita, Duncan and Taylor each had two hits. Freshman Natalie Pacyga doubled and scored on a wild pitch in the first inning.

“Wasn’t sure what was going to happen today with the rain, but our kids battled through it. The kids wanted to play,” Traina said. “The girls did a nice job hitting to the opposite field, getting on base, putting pressure on them.”

Oswego (12-6), like most teams do, struggled to generate much offense against Mardjetko. But the offense has been there on other days.

The Panthers were coming off a 7-6 win over Lincoln-Way West Friday. Freshman Aubriella Garza, the winning pitcher Friday, entered in relief in the third inning Saturday and threw well with runners on base to keep the game close.

“She has been doing a really nice job,” Pawlowski said. “We ask a lot of her. She’s done everything we can to help us on the mound and on defense.”