There was a positive “state of the program” article in the college paper The Daily Illini today. They interviewed Coach Hartleb and infielder Josh Parr.for the piece.
Quoth Hartleb:
“The LSU series, it showed not only our team, but people across the country that we have improved as a program and we can compete against some of the top teams in the country,” Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said. “It was just a step in the right direction for us.”
and further down
“We just need to be consistent throughout the year, have that mind set that we should be in the NCAA Tournament on a regular basis,” Hartleb said.
I think I get what Coach Hartleb is trying to get at here. Winning at LSU was fantastic but we had a hard time living up to it in the nation’s eyes the rest of the year.