Illinois senior Pete Cappetta’s final baseball season wasn’t unfolding as he had envisioned it would halfway through the year.

He barely played. He struggled at the plate when he did get his chances. Plus, the Illini were falling further under .500, and their hopes of reaching the Big Ten tournament were dwindling.

“As an individual, I was definitely down on myself,” Cappetta said. “When you’re a senior, you want to be a leader on the team. You feel like you’re letting everyone down.”

Illinois coach Dan Hartleb was baffled, and he knew something needed to change if his team was going to turn it around. In the series opener against Michigan on April 15, Hartleb rolled the dice and placed Cappetta at the leadoff spot. Cappetta had traditionally been a better second-half player, and Hartleb was banking on that again.

Cappetta and the leadoff spot clicked that day. He went 1 for 2, walked three times, scored two runs, and Illinois knocked off Michigan 9-2.

That performance jump-started Cappetta’s senior season. He has hit .439 over the last 16 games, raising his overall batting average 111 points to a team-best .333.

With Cappetta’s emergence, the team has also followed. The Illini fought back from being nine games under. 500 to finish 25-25 overall, 15-9 in the Big Ten and earn a share of the conference championship.

Top-seeded Illinois opens the Big Ten tournament against Ohio State on Thursday.

“It’s been an interesting year, to say the least,” Hartleb said on Wednesday. “I can’t say I’ve ever been through this before because I haven’t. We’ve had ups and down, but not with the length of time we had this season. For this group to turn around and win a championship, it’s truly amazing.”

Cappetta’s confidence was slipping before the Michigan game, but it began to restore after his Game 1 performance. He added three more hits during the series.

Cappetta earned conference player of the week honors on May 2 after hitting .667 with a .714 on-base percentage against Northwestern and hitting 6 for 12 against Purdue.

As a leadoff hitter, Cappetta is batting .398. Elsewhere, he is under. 200.

“We weren’t getting production in the leadoff spot,” Hartleb said. “Pete jumped in there and did a tremendous job. He took over at second base and was very, very good. He was a big part and big reason for why we’re sitting here with the No. 1 spot and Big Ten champions.”

Cappetta closed out the Big Ten season in conference play second in batting average (.403), second in steals (10), second in on-base percentage (.478) and 10th in slugging (.545).

“[Doubt] sometimes comes in your mind,” Cappetta said. “I wasn’t even playing. I thought I might not a get at it again. I just stuck with it and kept my confidence up. I told myself, ‘If I get a chance today, I’m going to take advantage of it.’ I was finally able to. I’m proud of myself.”

Now, Cappetta and Illinois have a chance to reach the NCAA tournament.

“I really couldn’t imagine the season going like this after starting so rough,” Cappetta said. “That’s what baseball is all about. The team has been rolling at the right time. I’ll definitely look back at this season with fond memories.”