Chris Marangon gave himself and the Tahoma baseball team a very happy 18th birthday present Saturday evening.

Marangon pitched seven innings and earned a 11-2 victory over the Puyallup in the first round of the South Puget Sound League playoffs at Art Wright Field at Kent Memorial Park.

“It’s my birthday today and I’ve never lost on my birthday,” the senior pitcher said.

Adam Climber picked up the loss for Puyallup.

The victory improves Marangon season record to 6-1 with one save.

The Tahoma ace said he struggled “a little” with his control in the first two innings before “finding the zone in the third.”

Marangon threw a solid mix of heat, breaking balls and cut fastballs.

He said the cut fastball was new pitch this season, which was working very well for him in the later innings.

Coach Russ Hayden said it was the fifth complete game of the season for Marangon.

“He’s a workhorse,” Hayden said.

Along with the pitching, Tahoma’s bats were blazing.

Heydon Johnson hit a shot out in the third inning to get the home-run derby started.

Kyle Conwell blasted two bombs – the first in the fourth and the second in the fifth. Conwell also hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning to give Tahoma a 1-0 lead.

The coach said one of the keys to the win was the team defense.

“This is the best defensive team I’ve coached,” Hayden said.

Justin Cloud hit 1-3 from the plate with a double and three RBIs.

Conwell was 2-3 with four RBIs and Johnson was 2-3 with three RBIs and a double.

Marangon went 3-5 with one RBI and Taylor Smart hit 2-4 with a double.