PAWTUCKET -- After getting off to one of the most impressive debuts in Pawtucket Red Sox history, David Eckstein quickly came crashing back down to earth in a big way.

Eckstein began his Triple-A career this season by reaching base safely in his first 10 at-bats in a PawSox uniform, a club record. But then, over the next nearly two months of play, it seemed the 25-year-old second baseman was hardly on base at all.

Eckstein's average dipped well below the infamous "Mendoza Line" (.200) by the end of April and stayed there throughout all of May.

Granted, Eckstein was still contributing to the team in other ways. He continued to play near-flawless defense at second base and get on base by drawing walks and getting hit by pitches. He also continued to display a youthful enthusiasm and sheer love of the game. Still, his struggles at the plate began to weigh on Eckstein.

"It was tough," he recalled on Sunday. "It felt like every day, you were hurting the team offensively. When your job is pretty much moving guys over and setting the other guys up, of course it hurts. You want to help the team out."

But ever since he went "back to the basics" a few weeks ago, Eckstein has been helping the team out at the plate in a big way. After going 4-for-5 with a walk and two runs scored in Sunday's 5-4 win over Norfolk, Eckstein has now hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games and 15 of his last 17 to raise his average 56 points since May 28, from .178 to .234.

His average is the highest it's been since April 21, when Eckstein was batting .231 through 11 games.

"I'm getting confident," he said after Sunday's performance. "I went back to the way I've always known how to hit, which is taking pitches and trying to advance runners. I had changed my hand position and it was causing me to pop the ball up. The biggest adjustment is keeping my hands where they were."

That is, where they were when Eckstein was batting over .300 at all three of his previous minor-league stops in Lowell (.301), Sarasota (.306) and Trenton (.313).

He has also benefited from PawSox manager Gary Jones' patience and faith in the 5-foot-8 second baseman, as well as a shift from lead-off to the No. 2 position in Pawtucket's lineup, behind Aaron Holbert.

"It may surprise some people, but it doesn't surprise me," Jones said of Eckstein's recent resurgence at the plate. "He's a fighter and a battler who knows how to play. He just kept fighting."

Eckstein's on-base average is now up to .362 after reaching base safely five times on Sunday. He has been hit by 12 pitches this season, tops in the International League.

Eckstein never brought his offensive woes out on the field with him, either. Entering yesterday's game, Eckstein led all International League second basemen with a .992 fielding percentage. He had committed just two errors in 260 total chances in 59 games at second base.

"Once you step out on the field, you can't worry about anything that happened at the plate," said Eckstein. "You've got to play that moment."

Of course, Eckstein doesn't so much step out on the field as he does sprint out on it. He is always the first PawSox player at his position each inning, darting out of the dugout to his spot at second at top speed, as if he were legging out an inside-the-park home run.

"Growing up, my dad told me, 'You'd better be the first one out there,'" Eckstein recalled. "But I like to do it because you've already run your fastest, so when the ball is hit to you, you're ready to make the play. My dad instilled it in me, but I think it helps me out every time I play."

And right now, David Eckstein is helping out his team as well as he has all season.