OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Sometimes a team can make up for a bad first inning in the remaining eight, getting out from behind the eight ball on the way to a comeback victory. Other times, a hole dug in the maiden inning is just a little too big of which to get out.  

Unfortunately the latter was the case for the Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide (1-11) Tuesday night at The Ballpark, as OOB lost 2-0 to the North Adams SteepleCats in a pitchers’ duel that took a little less than two hours to complete.

North Adams’ only runs came in first inning and OOB couldn’t get anything going off of SteepleCats starter Brian Gilbert, wasting a terrific start by its own hurler Chris Carmain and extending its losing streak to 11 games.

Carmain threw the Tide’s first complete game of the season, throwing 105 pitches and giving up only one earned run and five hits while striking out 10. But a shaky start, compounded with a moment of sloppy fielding, was enough to earn him the loss, as North Adams (4-11) pushed across the only runs of the game before most of the fans had settled into their seats.

After a walk and single to center gave North Adams runners at first and second with one out in the first, cleanup hitter Jason Leeson smacked a grounder into the hole to Old Orchard shortstop Mike Fransoso. Fransoso fielded the ball cleanly but bounced the throw, which scooted past first baseman Marcus Way. The error allowed one SteepleCats runner to score and another to advance to third, who was then promptly driven in on a sac fly to make the score 2-0.      

The inning could have been worse for Old Orchard, but catcher Tim Quinn gunned down two North Adams runners attempting to swipe second base to help limit the damage.

“I had some mechanical problems in the first. I was just flying open,” Carmain said. “But I came back in and coach told me exactly what I was doing and after that I just filled it up.”

Carmain allowed only two hits and three base runners the rest of the game, including retiring a stretch of 12 in a row during which he struck the North Adams’ 4-5-6 hitters in the seventh.

“I like starting a lot better,” said Carmain, who was a one-inning setup man at Northeastern this spring. “It’s weird, the deeper I go into the game the better I feel.”

But Gilbert was feeling good too, giving up only three hits and three walks while striking out five in eight innings of work to notch his first win. SteepleCats closer Gray Carden came on to clean up in the ninth for his second save, while Carmain dropped to 0-2.

Old Orchard’s best chance to get on the board came in the sixth, when a Billy Bereszniewicz single and Fransoso walk followed by a Gilbert wild pitch gave the Tide runners at second and third with no outs and the middle of the order coming up. But the excellent opportunity was wasted, as strikeouts by Fran Witten and Thomas Bourdon sandwiched a Quinn pop-up to allow Gilbert off the hook. Old Orchard didn’t threaten again, unable to get a runner past first in the last three innings.

Not getting hits in the clutch has been a constant problem for the Raging Tide, and its 0-6 showing with runners in scoring position Tuesday dropped the team under .200 in that situation for the season. Old Orchard Manager Inaki Ormaechea pinpointed picking up runners as the key to getting back into the win column.

“We just need to put every facet of the game together, especially clutch hitting,” he said. “We’ve been hitting the ball well all season although tonight our bats were a little slow. We need that clutch hit. If we can get that clutch hit it will spark us and get us going.”

Despite the 11-straight loss, Ormaechea said his players will come to the park expecting to win every day.

“You come back and just have the same attitude. The players do a pretty good job of pushing it and coming back positive. But it’s getting to that point where there’s only so much you can do as far as positivity.”

The Tide will look to get back on the positive side of things as it continues its five-game home stand tonight against the Laconia Muskrats, the team OOB beat on June 19 for its one and only win. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

 Tide Tidbits: Not all of the Carmain family went home unlucky losers Tuesday. Chris’ father Jack beat Tide pitcher Hunter Gordon in a hot dog eating contest in the middle of the sixth inning ”¦ This was the first time the Tide hasn’t managed to score a run all season ”¦ Bereszniewicz’s two hits pushed his average up to a league-leading .483, .59 points ahead of second-placed Dave Ciocchi of Danbury. The Binghamton University freshman has 14 hits in 29 at bats, all of them singles.