Silver Knights newcomer Collin Harty slowly leaves the field after being doubled off second on a great defensive play by the Lake Monsters during Thursday night's FCBL game at HolmanStadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – This seven is certainly no heaven.

No, the Nashua Silver Knights are in purgatory right now, losing their seventh straight game on Thursday night at the hands of – who else – the Vermont Lake Monster, 8-3, before a Holman Stadium announced crowd of 2,170, plus a NESN audience.

The streak has dropped Nashua (22-26) out of third place and into a fourth place tie with New Britain. Two of the three teams will make the playoffs, and it didn’t help the Silver Knights that Norwich (22-24) took two from Worcester yesterday and the Bees won.

What’s a manager to do?

“I told them the good news is you’re tied for a playoff spot still,” Silver Knights field general Nick Guarino said. “The bad news is we’re not a good baseball team at the moment. I told them I think we’re a better baseball team.”

But it’s not the same team that began 10 days ago at 22-19 and fairly comfortable in third place. Four of the seven losses were at the hands of Vermont, and one was to Worcester, the FCBL’s iron.

And now the team will play its next seven games away from Holman, beginning with tonight’s game at Norwich, and continuing with Saturday at Worcester and Sunday at New Britain. They’re not back here again until Saturday, Aug.2 vs. Westfield.

Guarino told his players to think in college terms,

“Two out of three, weekend series, conference weekend,” he said. “Go win two out of three.Wherever you play your conference games, you need to think of it as a conference weekend. We’re fighting for our lives every single game, and it starts this weekend.”

Last night followed a familiar script. Vermont got an unearned run in the first when one of several newcomers to the team, Collin Harty, made a couple of miscues for a 1-0 Lake Monsters lead.

“We threw that kid into a tough spot, he was nervous,” Guarino said.

But Knights ace Andrew Chenevert gave up a three-run homer in the third to Leandro Guevara and Nashua was down 4-0. Matt Jackson got one back with a solo shot over the right field wall in the fourth to make it 4-1, but Vermont got two back on three hits in the sixth,and tacked on solos in the seventh and eighth, all of the Knights bullpen, which had no margin for error as Nashua managed just two hits on the night – both by Jackson.

“He’s nails,” Guarino said. “He’s a good baseball player, comes from a great program (Stony Brook), knows how to play baseball.”

A throwing error on a double play ball in the ninth plated the Silver Knights only remaining runs.

The score doesn’t show it, but Nashua was snakebit at times. Vermont made a diving infield catch of line drive with two on and one out in the fourth and Harty, through no fault of his own, was a dead duck off second. And a force at third that was erroneously called safe – NESN replays showed a clear out — led to the Lake Monsters two runs in the sixth.

“Every game we’ve played recently, as soon as a team tacks on early, we’re kind of just dead,” Guarino said. “I hate to say it, but we haven’t been hitting. … We’re not hitting any balls in the gaps, just relying on singles.”

Nashua last week in the six losses was 4 of 52 with runners in scoring position. That’s scary.

“Everything that’s bad is happening for us,” Guarino said. “It’s got to get better, I would hope. They’re trying.”

Silver Knights left fielder Matt Jackson makes a charging catch of a line drive during Thursday night’s FCBL game vs.Vermont at Holman Stadiium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NOTES

Another player, first baseman David Rourke, said adios on Thursday, informing Guarino he was done…

Nashua will send Scott Longo to the mound tonight at Norwich, then split Saturday between Ethan Hunt and Nigel Cross. Sunday is tba…

Dodgers broadcaster and Nashua native Tim Neverett was at Holman yesterday, with L.A.playing the Red Sox at Fenway. His late parents, Sheila and William, were Silver Knight season ticket holders and have two seats marked with plaques that will never be sold, in their honor.