The New Canaan baseball team rallied from a five-run deficit to tie Monday's game against Wilton, but then dropped an 8-7 decision in nine innings to the Warriors.
Wilton scored runs in each of the first four innings to open a 5-0 lead against New Canaan starter Andrew Tropeano, who took the loss in a complete-game effort.
Austin Gambee tossed four innings in relief of starter Kurt Marut to earn the win.
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The Warriors scored two gift runs in the first without getting a hit, taking advantage of two errors and two walks. They added another run in the second inning when Dan Delfino reached on an infield single, went to third on Matt Baird's single and scored on a passed ball.
Wilton tacked on single runs in the third and fourth to build its 5-0 early lead.
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The Rams finally got on the board in the third when Rob DeWaele, who was making his initial start of the season at third base, knocked in a run with the first of his two hits. Cameron Armstrong delivered a two-run single in the inning to make it 5-3.
But Wilton's Aaron Shapiro opened the fourth with a double to deep left-center and scored on a bloop hit to left field.
Marut, who is headed for UConn in the fall, hit two batters in succession in the fifth. One scored on a fly ball to right before Jeff Spindel's triple to deep center pulled the Rams within a run. Alex Farina followed with an infield hit, tying the contest.
Marut gave way to Gambee to start the sixth.
"Marut didn't have his usual good stuff today," Wilton coach Tim Eagen. "Give New Canaan credit though for the way they kept battling back."
The Warriors took the lead for good in the ninth on Scott Young's two-run single.
The Rams got something going in their last at-bat, as Nick Bamatter opened the inning with a single to left and reached third when the ball got past Baird in left field.
After Spindel walked, Farina singled to make it 8-7. But Spindel got caught in a rundown and was tagged out with Farina in scoring position at second with the potential tying run.
Gambee then struck out Alex Freeman and Peter Gronseth to end the game.
"We're still giving up too many gift runs," New Canaan coach Mitch Hoffman said. "It's been putting too much pressure on our pitchers. It's something we'll have to change and we'll work on it."
"I really didn't have my good stuff today and was just grinding it out, trying to keep my team in the game," Tropeano added.
New Canaan, which plays at undefeated Ludlowe on Wednesday at 4 p.m., dropped to 4-3.
The Warriors, who improved to 5-1, host Danbury on Wednesday at 4.
