Buck Showalter speaks at 2020 Illinois Baseball Hot Stove Banquet

On Saturday night, the Chancellor Ballroom at the iHotel was filled to capacity with loyal Illinois Baseball fans for the 2020 First Federal Hot Stove Banquet.  Three-time Manager of the Year Buck Showalter was the keynote speaker and Mike Namoff facilitated a successful live and silent auction for Illinois Baseball. …

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Dan Hartleb named best B1G coach of the decade

Illinois baseball is starting out the year right. D1baseball.com has named Coach Dan Hartleb the Big Ten Coach of the Decade! According to D1Baseball.com’s All Decade award-laden post: There’s plenty of competition for this honor. Former Indiana coach Tracy Smith has a good argument but only coached half the decade…

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Nine sign letters of intent to play for Illini

The Illinois baseball recruitment team has been busy lately. Today, it was announced that seven high school athletes and two junior college transfers have signed national letters of intent to play for the Illini. According to FightingIllini.com, they are… Jack Crowder RHP Plainfield East HS Ryan Hampe C John A.…

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Illini fans convene to hear Bobby Valentine at Hot Stove Banquet

The Illinois Baseball community continues to amaze me. The annual Illinois Baseball Hot Stove Banquet co-sponsored by the Dugout Club, was scheduled for last Saturday night. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if attendance would be high. We had a nasty winter storm roll in on Saturday and roads were…

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Illinois baseball turning over a new leaf against Sycamores

What a weekend for Illini baseball!  A sweep of the Indiana State Sycamores is just what the team needed.  Not only did Illinois win all three games against the Sycamores (12-12) but they did it in style with a fantastic pitching performance from Ty Weber as well as some offensive…

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Illinois baseball hosts the press for Media Day

Local media showed up at the Irwin Indoor Football Practice Facility where the Illinois baseball team was taking practice on Friday.  It was Media Day and both Coach Dan Hartleb and designated player spokesperson Anthony Drago (above) took some time to speak to the press.    Coach Hartleb’s crew is…

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