Hanoi Capitals Baseball

The Hanoi Capitals won the Bronco (U-12) Division of the Vietnam Baseball Classic held in Vinh Yen from 13-16 January with a 14-8 victory over Indonesia Prambors, one of the top baseball clubs in Jakarta. The Capitals had to win two games on the final day to win the championship. In an afternoon elimination game, the Capitals defeated the Japan School of Hanoi 13-1 behind 3 innings of no-hit pitching by starting pitcher Tran Trung Hieu.

In the final, a rematch vs the Indonesia Prambors (who had previously beat Vietnam 8-7 in a seasaw game on a walk off hit by Prambors 1B Rizky in pool play), Indonesia jumped to an early 7-3 lead, taking advantage of a number of Vietnam errors, and excellent pitching by Wiga. With Vietnam trailing 7-4 in the 5th inning, Vietnam's bats came to life as the top of the order, Ben Treutler, "Rabbit" Nhu Ngoc Quoc Thinh, and Nguyen Tuan Anh all singled with one out. Catcher Lam Nguyen Khai Hoan, the tournament MVP, then cleared the bases with a long double and raced home on an overthrow to give Vietnam 8-7 lead.

Diminuitive Vietnam Second Baseman Do Quang Hieu then took the mound in the bottom of the 5th inning to try to thwart a bases loaded, no out rally by the Prambors with Vietnam leading 9-7. Hieu induced a double play that began with a diving over the shoulder circus catch in foul territory by Vietnam 1B Nguyen Duc Huy who then quickly got back on his feet and astutely raced to 1st base to double off the Prambors runner. Quang Hieu then struck out Prambors slugger Radja (second in Home Run Derby) swinging on a letter high fastball. Quang Hieu then held the Prambors to just one more run in the next inning.

Vietnam LHP Nguyen Tong Hai went 2-2, and was the winning pitcher in relief. The Prambors lost several opportunities to break the game open, leaving the bases loaded in the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings. Tong Hai made a charging shoestring catch in left field in the 3rd inning that prevented the Prambors from adding to their lead. In the 4th inning, SS "Rabbit" Nhu Ngoc Quoc Thinh, who won the base running contest in the skills competition, made a diving snare of a line shot up the middle to once again prevent the Prambors from breaking the game open. Vietnam 3B Tran Trung Hieu went 3-3. Vietnam starting pitcher Ben Treutler, who posted a 2-0 record in the tournament, scored 3 runs, including a steal of home, and played 5 positions (Pitcher, 3rd base, 2nd base, first base and centerfield) over the course of the 3-hour marathon game.

Indonesian pitcher Wiga played an outstanding game and was voted Outstanding Pitcher of the Tournament, holding down the Vietnam bats for the first few innings and stopping Vietnam's running game. Prambors LF Putri went 3-3 and scored 2 runs. Prambers CF Haryo also went 3-3 in the game, while RF Raken and P Wiga each had a pair of hits for the Prambors. All agreed that the Prambors/Vietnam match ups were the most exciting games of the tournament, and this promises to be a strong rivalry in the coming years.

Vietnam coach Loc Tieu said: "I'm real proud of these boys. They have come a long ways after only playing baseball for two years. Prambors played a great game and is a tough team with good coaching. They had us on the ropes, but we had a little more pitching depth." The Capitals scored 57 runs in the five-game tournament, and only allowed 20 runs. The Capitals hit .564 as a team and stole 42 bases while only striking out 10 times in 5 games. SS Quoc Thinh paced Vietnam with a .727 batting average, 10 runs scored and 10 RBIs. P-3B Ben Treutler hit .667, stole 10 bases and scored 10 runs. C Khai Hoan hit .600 and drove in 9 runs.

UNIS Red Sox player Hoang Barnett hit the lone home run over the fence in the tournament, after going yard vs the Japan School, and was a finalist in the home run derby. Indonesia catcher Senayan's Arbyan turned in a great tournament, winning the Gold Glove award and the Louisville Slugger Home Run Derby. Radja, the Indonesia Prambors' slugger, finished second in the home run derby. Senayan's Mikhail also finished second in the baserunning contest, just behind Vietnam shortstop Nhu Ngoc Quoc Thinh. Vietnam won the around the horn contest (three revolutions in 24.9 seconds), with Japan School of Hanoi finishing second with an excellent time of 28.5 seconds.