Wilton Ace Marut Blanks Darien

In a contest featuring two of the top pitchers in the state, Wilton's Kurt Marut out-dueled Darien's Dave Hickey.

The result was a 7-0 victory for the Warriors, who improved to 7-1, including a 6-1 mark in the FCIAC.

Marut, who is headed to UConn in the fall,  had flawless defense behind him, which could not be said for Hickey, as fielding miscues hurt the Blue Wave.   

Marut pitched what Wilton coach Tim Eagen called "his best game of the year against a good team, and Darien is a good team. Kurt had a lot of first-pitch strike ones along with his good stuff, mixing his fastball with his sinker and curve."

It was scoreless after three innings, but in the fourth, Wilton struck for three runs.

With a runner on first and one out, Mike DeSantis hit a popup to short. Dan Pidgeon was fighting the bright sun as soon as the ball left the bat and never touched the ball as it dropped to the ground.

That put runners on first and second, and the next batter also hit a pop near short. But the umpire didn't call the infield fly rule because Pidgeon was fighting the sun again.

Once again the ball dropped without being touched, and the Warriors had the bases loaded with one out.

Hickey, who will be attending Yale,  should have been out of the inning, but the gift hits extended the inning. Wilton took advantage when Ed Klukojc singled sharply past third to score two. Aaron Shapiro knocked in the third run with another single.

Hickey, who maintained his poise, said "a couple of errors won't ruin things. These guys have bailed me out in games so I'm not upset."

Meanwhile, Marut was getting stronger and sharper as the game moved on.He struck out the side in the fifth.

In the home fifth, Mike Miller relieved Hickey, who allowed three runs and seven hits with three walks and seven strikeouts..

The Warriors added four runs against Miller in the sixth inning with some solid hits.

Kevin O'Connell singled home the first run in the inning, Shapiro got his second hit for another RBI  and Matt Baird hit a liner to the deepest part of the field in right center for a standup triple that plated two. 

Marut got the complete-game  win, tossing a four-hitter while striking out nine  and allowing no walks.

Darien drops to 4-4 (2-4 FCIAC) after winning its first four games. The Blue Wave's next game is at home against Greenwich on Monday at 4 p.m.

Wilton faces Harding on Monday, also at 4 p.m.