OLD ORCHARD BEACH — It’s a position no new ball club wishes to be in.

After opening its historic first season with a 5-4 win over the Laconia Muskrats on June 10, the Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide have lost six consecutive contests, including a 12-7 defeat at the hands of the Mystic Schooners in front of 310 fans at The Ballpark on Sunday night.

Of the six games the Tide have lost, Sunday night’s game may have been the most frustrating to date, as Old Orchard entered the fifth inning with a 7-3 lead before giving up five runs to the Schooners in the inning. All of Mystic’s runs went unanswered, as the Tide couldn’t score the rest of the game.

“This definitely has been one of the more frustrating games,” Tide shortstop Mike Fransoso said. “Coming out here today and giving up that four-run lead was big. I think we all felt comfortable and confident today, and then to give that up in the fifth inning, and not to score again, kind of put us down.”

There have been bright spots on the year so far for Old Orchard. Fransoso, who just finished his sophomore year at the University of Maine, is batting .462 average to go along with a home run, four RBIs and five stolen bases.

“I think I’m just confident up there,” Fransoso said. “I just go up to the plate every time knowing that I’m not going to go down without a fight, and I’m seeing the ball really well right now. I try get on base at the top of the order and let the guys behind me do their job.”

His teammate both on the Tide and with the Black Bears, Fran Whitten, collected four RBIs on Sunday night and has a .294 average. Outfielder Billy Berezniewicz is leading the squad with a .467 batting average and displayed great range against Mystic, making two diving catches in the eighth inning.

However, the pitching staff has been struggling, as indicated by its 6.63 overall ERA, and clutch hits have been missing when needed.

“I don’t think it’s one single thing,” Fransoso said. “It’s baseball. Sometimes things don’t go your way. That’s why there’s slumps, and we’re in one of them right now. You eventually come out of it, and we hope to do it sooner than later.”

There’s still plenty of hope that the Tide’s struggles will turn around, as there is plenty of NECBL baseball left to be played. Old Orchard has eight games in the next 10 days.

“We just have to put this past us and come out again tomorrow,” Fransoso said. “That’s why you play day after day, so you can forget things.”

The Tide hit the road today for a game against the New Bedford Bay Sox, scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Short Hops: In terms of the Tide’s new rivalry with the Sanford Mainers, Mother Nature continues to step in the way. After the first game between the two local teams was postponed due to rain on June 11, the Tide and the Mainers finally met for the first time on Saturday night, only to have the game be shortened to six innings due to more inclement weather. The Mainers won the contest 5-1.

Sanford catcher and UMaine standout Matt Verrier led the Mainers with two RBIs in the contest, while Tripp Davis earned the win on the mound, going 5 2/3 innings, striking out four batters.

Fransoso led the Tide with a 3 for 3 performance at the plate.

The game went through three delays before being called. Two were due to weather, and another came after the lights at Goodall Park went off around the fourth inning, causing a 20 minute delay.

— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535 ext. 318 or follow on Twitter @Dave_Dyer