WEST LAFAYETTE— It was run of the mill for Jenissa Conway.
With the score of Saturday’s Big Ten championship matchup against No. 2 seed UCLA deadlocked at zero runs apiece in the top of the sixth inning, the sophomore center fielder settled into the batter’s box and squared herself up. Conway looked straight ahead and beyond the circle to see junior second baseman Indiana Langford leading off of second base. A familiar scene.
Amid a season darkened by offensive stallouts, Langford and Conway have been a guiding light from the top of the batting order. Since conference play opened, Langford and Conway — batting first and second for the Wolverines — have hit .397 and .432, respectively, while accounting for 75 of Michigan’s 136 runs. They both were also recently named First Team All-Big Ten for the 2025 regular season.
It’s a title they earned together, through an approach that leans into one another’s strengths. Langford, a slap hitter by trade, often finds herself on base in the form of a bunt or shallow hit into the outfield that she was able to beat the tag on with her abundant speed. This tactic positions a fast runner on the basepaths for Conway, whose extra-base hitting — 12 doubles, two triples and 17 home runs — completes the momentum-shifting combination.
“Normally when we’re starting out I’ll (say to Langford), ‘Alright Indy, me and you,’ “ Conway said. “When she gets safely on base, it hypes me up because if I hit it, she’s gonna score.”
Langford and Conway had their moments throughout the Wolverines’ first three rounds of the tournament, but often found support from an array of teammates along the way. Junior third baseman Maddie Erickson found herself a few crucial hits and RBIs throughout the weekend, as did redshirt sophomore Lilly Vallimont, freshman designated player Lauren Putz and junior shortstop Avery Fantucci. But against the Bruins Saturday, Michigan’s offensive drive came to a screeching halt. UCLA right-hander Addisen Fisher held the streaking Wolverines bats to only one hit and zero runs through the first five innings. Michigan’s holistic production had met an end. As the contest grew increasingly intricate, the Wolverines went back to the basics.
After starting her day 0-2, Langford finally made solid contact with one of Fisher’s pitches. A shallow knock into center field quickly transformed into a double as Langford’s foot speed capitalized on a fielding error. With the first hit either team had had in four straight innings, it was a jump Michigan needed. Now it was up to Conway to capitalize. Within the gravity of such a moment, Conway had a ready belief that she was going to be the difference maker.
“100%,” Conway said of her confidence level in the moment. “After all the stuff I’ve been working on and all the adjustments I had to make, yeah I was prepared.”
Once Langford was secure at second, it was almost predictable that Conway would go on to hit a game-defining double over the head of UCLA center fielder Jessica Clements, sending Langford all the way home on a tear to bust through the staunch five-inning stalemate.
“Indy, she just hypes me up,” Conway said. “She got us going, and we capitalized on that. And it was great.”
Once again this season, the pair of all-conference hitters did their duty in giving the Wolverines an offensive jumpstart. But with only a one-run lead, a little more assistance was going to be needed to break away from such a talented Bruins roster.
Just two batters later, sophomore right fielder Ella Stephenson answered the call. Contact on an inside fastball put a ball in play long enough to make it safely to first while Conway coasted into home from third to record the second run of the game, and the second scored by the leadoff pair. Langford and Conway’s two scores proved to be plenty enough as the Wolverines’ pitchers continued to lock down the UCLA offense.
Michigan’s run to the Big Ten Championship was anything but predictable, but on the back of Langford’s and Conway’s bats, the improbable journey ended in typical fashion.
