CHAMPAIGN — Illinois baseball has crafted a legitimate NCAA tournament résumé this season.
The Illini's play in the last month, including four straight Big Ten series wins to reach 31-16 overall and 10-8 in the conference, has also helped ensure all the work Dan Hartleb's team put in during the first half of the season wasn't for naught.
A 17-4 start in the first month-and-a-half of the season laid the foundation for that résumé, built on the strength of individual winning streaks of six and seven games. A 1-5 start to Big Ten play as part of a larger 3-7 stretch through the end of March and into April was a serious hiccup.