Two weeks ago, the Slammers dropped to 10-16 after getting swept by Washington.
They faced another road series against Southern Illinois and the prospect of falling further out of contention in the Frontier League East Division.
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That was then and this is now: The Slammers (21-18) have won 11 of their last 13 games, including a franchise-record 10-game winning streak, even after falling 8-3 Sunday to Traverse City at Joliet Route 66 Stadium.
The hot streak has included back-to-back complete-game victories by right-hander Liam O’Sullivan.
“Everything but the velocity is getting there,’’ O’Sullivan said. “I’m kind of recreating myself out there, just really focusing on hitting spots and locating pitches. The defense (Saturday) was unbelievable.
“We’ve had a bunch of quality starts and given our bats a chance to go out there and swing with no pressure on, knowing that the starters are going to keep them in the game. When it gets late in the game, we’ve got guys in the back end that can shut the door.’’
The recent turnaround isn’t a mystery to second-year third baseman Danny Zardon, a 2017 All-Star.
“I just think the ball is starting to roll our way a little bit,’’ Zardon said. “We caught some bad breaks at the beginning of the year. When we hit, we didn’t pitch. When we pitched, we didn’t hit. We’re just playing much more complete games now.’’
Catcher Trey Fulton had three hits Sunday to raise his average to .391 in 21 games.
“A lot of things have started falling into place,’’ Fulton said. “The (pitching) staff has really come around. Early in the season, we had guys that didn’t get as much work in as they wanted to before the summer. (Manager Jeff Isom) Ice does a really good job keeping the field open so we get our time in.
“I think it’s really showed. The scoreboard (Sunday) doesn’t show it, but the last two weeks show it. Things aren’t always going to fall in your favor, but we hit this streak where they have. We’ll get back on the winning side.’’
Joliet lost two of three to Traverse City, but the Slammers’ recent history shows another winning streak could be in the future.
“That’s what I like about this club is they have some resilience,’’ Isom said. “They keep coming back in tough situations. They’ll fight back and find a way to get in it. It’s nice now that we’re getting some hitting and getting good pitching. It’s nice that it’s coming together.’’
The Slammers play the Boomers in Schaumburg on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and return to Joliet for a weekend series against Lake Erie, another East Division rival.
O’Sullivan and Fulton believe the Slammers have what it takes to stay in the playoff race.
“Absolutely,’’ O’Sullivan said. “We’re trying to find our identity. We’ve got a lot of guys who are willing to grind. Beginning of the year you’re really trying to figure out who you are. We’ve got a group of guys who are coming together to battle. Ten games in a row shows it.’’
“I definitely think we will be in contention,’’ Fulton said. “I really like the squad that we have, from top to bottom.’’
Tim Tierney is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.