NORMAN, OK — In her last two games before Saturday, junior center fielder Jenissa Conway went a combined 0-for-8. Against Kansas on Saturday, she went 3-for-4 and hit the game-winning home run in an elimination game.
Conway has been no stranger to big moments, hitting a walkoff three-run homer to beat Ohio State during the regular season and robbing a home run of the same type against Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament. But on Friday, she and the rest of the Michigan softball team were silent at the plate. And against Nebraska in the postseason, she was unable to produce offensively. Saturday, you wouldn’t have been able to tell.
To open the day, the Wolverines faced Binghamton in a do-or-die game. And while Conway went just 1-for-3 that game, her hit was a big one. She notched a triple in the bottom of the fifth inning that would later be scored.
Conway only built upon this performance in the second game.
Facing the Jayhawks later that same day, Michigan and Kansas were locked in a slugfest that resulted in 22 total runs. Conway was a large part of the Wolverines’ 12, reaching base three times and batting in four runners.
“(Conway) totally recognized today that today it was Michigan’s at bat,” Wolverines coach Bonnie Tholl said. “She was the one who actually carried the stick.”
Conway began her hot streak with a single down the right field line in the first inning, scoring sophomore right fielder Lauren Putz. With smart base running, Conway reached home herself, taking Michigan’s first lead of the game — something she would have to do once more later.
A triple came for Conway in the bottom of the second inning, where her undeniable speed sent her almost fully around the bases. She scored two batters later, bringing the Wolverines’ lead to five with eight runs total — eight more than they scored all game on Friday.
But Conway’s big at-bat was yet to come. After Michigan extended that lead, the Jayhawks came crawling back, pushing ahead in the sixth inning. It was just their second lead of the day, after scoring in the top of the first and trailing the rest of the game. In the bottom of the sixth inning, with time winding down, the Wolverines needed a spark.
And Conway was the match.
With two runners on and down by one, Conway stepped up to the plate with an opportunity to save Michigan’s postseason hopes. Facing a 1-2 count, Conway smashed the fourth pitch she saw, sending the ball sailing 224 feet and out of the park. While this didn’t walk it off for the Wolverines, it was the go-ahead score that eventually proved to be the last of the game.
“(The Kansas pitcher) had a really good rise ball,” Conway said. “And I knew in my last at bat, I was like, ‘I don’t care what I do, just get on top, I’m just trying to get it on the ground up or pull it so I can move the runner,’ and that didn’t happen, but it went over the fence, and I’m okay with it.”
The whole Michigan team — Conway included — was more than okay with it, as that homer sent the Wolverines to the next round. Michigan’s hot bats pushed the Wolverines over Kansas in their rematch — and none were hotter than Conway’s.
