Chris Marangon knew the magnitude of Wednesday afternoon’s baseball game against Kentwood.
It was a contest the Tahoma High pitcher had played out in his mind more than a few times earlier in the week leading up to the South Puget Sound League North Division showdown between first-place teams.
From the first pitch to the last, it was clear Marangon was in a zone. The Tahoma righthander went the distance on the mound, striking out a season-high 10 batters while allowing just four hits, leading the Bears past the Conquerors 2-1.
“It was huge. I was thinking about it all week,” said Marangon. “You don’t want to let it get to you (during) other games, but I knew this was a game I was going to pitch.”
Marangon got stronger as the game progressed as well, retiring the final six batters, four by strikeout.
“He threw well, really well,” said Kentwood coach Jon Aarstad. “It was a great high school baseball game. It was a pitchers’ dual.”
Indeed. Kentwood ace Alexander Lee nearly matched Marangon pitch-for-pitch, allowing just the two runs and five hits while striking out six in a complete-game effort. Lee’s lone blemish came in the fourth inning, when Tahoma plated both of its runs, one on a Marangon single driving home Jerad Casper and the other on a Justin Cloud single, scoring Marangon.
“(Alexander) threw a great game,” Aarstad said. “They got a couple seeing-eye basehits, jammed (Marangon) up on an RBI to center. They hit one ball hard all day.”
The loss drops Kentwood (12-2 in league) into second place in the SPSL North standings with two games remaining. The top four teams advance to the playoffs. Kentwood secured a postseason berth two weeks ago and remains in contention for the North crown, something it has not won since 2000. Though, thanks to the win, Tahoma (13-1) remains very much in the driver’s seat for the title with Federal Way (4-9) and Kent-Meridian (0-13) still left to play. Tahoma has won outright or shared the league title in each of the last three years.
It was Tahoma’s 11th-straight victory. The loss snapped Kentwood’s seven-game North Division winning streak. During that seven-game stretch, Kentwood’s offense has been in high gear, scoring at least nine runs in each game.
Wednesday afternoon, however, Marangon proved too tough for the Conquerors to crack. He also, however, was aided by strong defensive play, particularly up the middle from shortstop Taylor Smart and second baseman Casper.
Kentwood didn’t break through until the fifth inning, when Robbie Morris laced a single into center field, scoring David Parrott. Morris was the last Kentwood batter to reach base.
Tahoma coach Russ Hayden praised his ace after the win.
“That’s the adrenaline. He’s a competitor and he always likes to step up,” Hayden said. “He was dynamite.”
• Kentlake 6, Jefferson 5: The Falcons (8-6) remained alive for one of the four playoffs from the SPSL North, knocking off the Raiders (9-6). Lewi Larson led the offense, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Zach Wright pitched six strong innings to pick up the win.
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