OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Raging Tide manager Chris Torres says he has a familiar refrain when talking about winning baseball teams ”“ “Championship teams just find a way to win.”

While it may be a tad early to call Old Orchard Beach a championship team, on Wednesday, Torres’ team just found a way to win.

After getting out of a bases loaded, no outs in the top of the ninth inning, the Tide went out walk-off winners when C.J. Picerni’s single down the right field line fell just fair, scoring Dylan Begin for the winning run to beat the North Shore Navigators 6-5 at The Ballpark.

“It was up and down but the boys found a way to battle,” said Torres, whose team has now won three in a row. “They found a way to win, and like I say, championship teams find a way to win, walk-off wins. And they found a way to do it.”

It was the fourth hit of the day for Picerni, who had come into the game with just two hits total on the season.

“I kind of went into a slump for a few games but I came back out of it today,” Picerni said. “That kind of hit just boosts your confidence incredibly. It’s big for our momentum.”

While Picerni was the hero, he never would have had the chance to play the part if it weren’t for the Houdini act pulled by reliever Evan Brisentine in the top of the ninth.

After an error, a walk and a bunt loaded the bases for the Navigators, Brisentine went to work, getting a grounder to third that resulted in a throw home for the first out, and then another grounder right back to the pitcher, starting a 1-2-3 double play to get out of the inning unscathed.

It was a great end to a great day for the Tide bullpen overall, which allowed just one run in five innings of work.

“Bullpen was amazing today,” Torres said. “The bullpen’s been doing a job for us on this three-game winning streak. Enough said ”“ they just did a great job.”

The OOB offense then went to work getting Brisentine the win, with Begin leading off the bottom of the ninth by crushing a Brandon Walsh fastball to deep left-center for a double.

Zach Collett got Begin to third with a sacrifice bunt, and Skip Flanagan and Jeff Gelinas followed with walks to bring Picerni to the plate.

“I knew he was going to challenge me with a fastball so I was just thinking short swing and putting it somewhere,” Picerni said. “Go opposite field and try to put it in play.”

That’s exactly what he did, taking a 2-1 pitch to right field to plate Begin and set off a celebration.

“He’s one of our better hitters,” Torres said of Picerni. “Anybody I put into the lineup, I’m confident with. I knew he was going to come through and right before that last at bat I told him, ”˜You’re going to get this hit,’ and he did.”

With the win, OOB (8-6) moves within half a game of the first-place Navigators, and the Tide will be back in action tonight as they head to Leary Field in Portsmouth, N.H. to take on the Seacoast Mavericks at 6:35 p.m.

NOTES: It was “Rec Day” at The Ballpark as a franchise-record 1,571 fans, most of them children who attend rec day camp during the summer, took in the noontime start ”¦ OOB center fielder Graham McIntire hit his second home run of the season on Wednesday, launching one over the left field wall in the sixth inning to give his team a 5-4 lead ”¦ Recent Thornton Academy graduate Gelinas got his first start of the season and made the most of it, going 1-for-3 with a run scored and a pair of walks out of the designated hitter spot ”¦ The Tide are back at The Ballpark on Friday to take on the Wachusett Dirt Dawgs, with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 323.