Wolverines to Head to Rival Ohio State for Three-Game Series

SCHEDULE UPDATE: Due to inclement weekend weather in the Columbus area, Michigan and Ohio State will play a 5 p.m. doubleheader on Friday (April 18). As of now, the teams will skip Saturday (April 19) and play at 1 p.m. on Sunday (April 20) as scheduled.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Michigan softball team (31-12, 9-4 Big Ten) will return to action with a three-game road set against rival Ohio State (33-10-1, 8-5 Big Ten) at 6 p.m. on Friday (April 18) before squaring off at 2 p.m. on Saturday (April 19) and 1 p.m. on Sunday (April 20) at Buckeye Field. The weekend series will be streamed live on B1G+.

Notes

• Head coach Bonnie Tholl earned her 100th win as Michigan's head coach with the Wolverines' 8-4 decision against Rutgers on Monday (April 14) and the weekend series sweep of the Scarlet Knights. Tholl contributed to 1,366 wins as Carol Hutchins' top assistant and is now 100-52 in her third season at the helm of the program. With three weeks remaining in the regular season, Michigan is 31-12 and ranks fourth in the Big Ten standings with a 9-4 league record.

• Sophomore center fielder Jenissa Conway has boasted eight homers over the Wolverines' last 10 games and batted .545 (18-for-33) with 14 runs scored and 20 RBI over the stretch, increasing her batting average by 38 points -- from .330 to .368. She owns a team-best 45 runs, 43 hits, and 38 RBI.

• Conway led U-M against Rutgers last weekend with four runs and six RBI. She posted a first-inning homer and extended the lead in the same game with a three-RBI shot in the fifth. She leads the Wolverines with 15 long balls on the season.

• Sophomore right fielder Ella Stephenson and Conway have boasted significant year-one to year-two improvements at the plate. Stephenson's .350 average is an 83-point jump over her rookie season average last year, while Conway's .368 average is a 132-point improvement since last season. Through 37 games last year, Stephenson held just a .218 batting average and Conway was at .248.

• Junior second baseman Indiana Langford leads Michigan with a career-high .402 batting average, a 73-point jump from her 2023 average when she earned All-Big Ten second-team honors. She batted .329 last season. She has batted leadoff over the last 29 games and has reached base half the time when leading off an inning (.500, 24-for-48).

• Senior shortstop Ella McVey hit a two-run inside-the-park homer down the left-field line in the sixth inning of the series finale against Rutgers, marking her first collegiate home run. It was U-M's first inside-the-park home run since Langford's three-run inside-the-parker against Toledo (March 27, 2024).

• Sophomore right-handed pitcher Erin Hoehn (16-2) ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 19th nationally with a career-high 16 wins, surpassing her 2024 total of 15. She earned her 16th win in U-M's 11-3 (six innings) run-rule decision over Rutgers (April 14), allowing three runs on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts over 5.1 innings. Hoehn also earned her second save of the season a day later, allowing only one run and two hits with two strikeouts over the last 2.1 innings in the series finale.

• Michigan ranks second in the Big Ten and 18th nationally with 11 shutout wins. Senior RHP Lauren Derkowski owns four complete-game shutouts, ranking second in the conference and 17th in the country, and has combined for three more. Derkowski also boasts a career-high five saves this season to lead the conference.

• Derkowski earned 13 strikeouts over two outings against Rutgers last weekend. Her 611 career strikeouts surpass Sara Griffin (602, 1995-98) to reach the ninth spot among U-M's all-time leaders in the category. Jordan Taylor (2008-11) holds Michigan's program record with 1,220 strikeouts.