Hanoi Capitals Baseball

The Hanoi Capitals won the 1st Annual USA - Vietnam Baseball Challenge by defeating the Seattle Klouters 6-2 in a Pony Baseball Game at the Hanoi National Sports Center on April 3, 2011, in front of 319 spectators. The Klouters, one of the top tournament teams in the Seattle area, traveled 21 hours to play in the game.

Link to Box Score (At Bottom of Page)

It is believed that this baseball game was the first time youth sports teams from the two countries have met in Vietnam. It is also believed to be the largest crowd in history to attend a baseball game in Vietnam.

The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Mr. Hoang Vinh Giang, General Secretary of the Vietnam National Olympic Committee, and Deputy Chairman of the Olympic Committee of Asia. Prior to the game, in the aftermath of the recent tragic Tsunami in Japan, the players, coaches and fans joined the Japanese umpires from the Japan School of Hanoi (Iizaka-san, Miyake-san and Inagaki-san) in a moment of silence to honor the memory of the victims of the Tsunami in Japan.

In the pre-game ceremonies, Hanoi Capitals coach and the Director of Vietnam Pony Baseball, Tom Treutler thanked Coach Phil Rognier of the Seattle Klouters, Microsoft Corporation, and Coach Rognier's FirstSwing Foundation for their support to Vietnamese baseball through the generous sponsorship of Microsoft Corporation, who sponsored the game and have helped Vietnam in developing baseball over the last three years. Coach Rognier presented a commemorative gift to General Secretary Giang and addressed the crowd regarding the historical significance of the game.

The Capitals jumped to a 3-0 lead over the jet-lagged Klouters in the first inning, but then the Klouters came alive and rallied in the top of the fifth to close the gap to 3-2, only to have the Capitals answer with 3 more runs.

Ho Chi Minh City-born Ben Nguyen Treutler, now living in Hanoi, lead the Capitals by pitching 5 1/3 innings and allowing no earned runs, while striking out 5 Klouters to earn the Cy Young Award for the USA - Vietnam Baseball Challenge. LF Tran Trung Hieu came in to close the game and earn the save, by retiring the only two batters he faced in just five pitches.

RF Nhu Ngoc "Rabbit" Quoc Thinh and 3B Nguyen Tuan Anh each scored two runs for the Capitals. Hanoi hurler Ben went 3-3 at the plate with two doubles and a single, as well as 3 stolen bases.

The Klouters were lead by veteran Catcher Jordan "JoJo" Landel, who was named MVP for the USA - Vietnam Baseball Challenge, after throwing out five Capitals stealing, recording a stunning "web gem", making many fine blocks, and also getting on base every time up to bat. Landel combined with third sacker Beau "Bo Bo" Turner to stop many Hanoi runners in their tracks at third base. Klouter first baseman Connor "C-Man" Sand garnered two base hits for the Klouters, and nailed a runner at second base relaying a ball from the outfield. Seattle Klouter ace Henry "Hammer" Pratt pitched well in a losing cause, got on base twice while at the plate, and swiped three bases.

10-year old OF Marco "Spats" Cooper of the Klouters, the youngest player in the game played an excellent game, recording a two-RBI single, a walk, and a stolen base. At the post-game ceremony, Marco was awarded a commemorative Korea Pony Baseball cap from the Korea Pony Baseball Association as a souvenir of his first trip to Asia.

The game featured many memorable plays by the "brother combinations" playing in the game, including a rare brother to brother combination 9-3 outfield assist by the Sand brothers of Everett, Washington, and a sacrifice bunt by one of the Cooper brothers from Edmonds, Washington to advance his little brother.

In the top of the 1st, the Klouters threatened, but the Hanoi Capitals escaped unblemished. Speedy Klouter lead off man Kosta "Double Duty" Coooper began the game by drawing a walk. Kosta then attempted to steal second base, but was gunned down on a pitch out by Vietnam catcher Lam Nguyen Khai Hoan. Then, Klouter 2B George "Geo" Reidy got around on a pitch and blasted a towering moon shot to left field, but Hanoi Pitcher/Catcher Tran Trung Hieu, playing in left field for the first time, was positioned correctly and the ball perched in Trung Hieu's outstretched glove a mere few feet in front of the fence. Then, with two outs, Klouter pitcher Henry Pratt advanced to third after drawing a walk, but Hanoi pitcher Ben struck out the Klouter clean-up batter to halt the threat, and continued to shut down the Klouters over the next three innings.

The Capitals struck early in the bottom of the 1st inning, when lead-off batter Ben Nguyen Treutler choked up and short-stroked an 0-2 pitch but got good enough "wood" with his aluminum bat to launch a fly ball within a few feet of the makeshift 195-foot left field fence to record a lead off double. Ben stole third and then raced home on RF "Rabbit" Nhu Ngoc Quoc Thinh's long single to left center. Thinh then stole 2nd and 3rd base. Then, three-hole hitter 3B Nguyen Tuan Anh then also made contact and hit a ground ball to the left side that drove in Thinh on an infield error to stake the Capitals to an early 3-0 lead. Tuan Anh then scored on a subsequent fielder's choice.

In the top of the second, with one out, Klouter third-sacker Beau Turner teed off on a pitch and drilled a long line drive shot to centerfield, but fleet-footed Capitals CF Nguyen Tong Hai ("Lefty") ambled in, then burst forward and made a charging shoestring catch to rob Turner of a base hit on a play where Tong Hai evoked images of old-time Yankee center fielder Mickey Rivers back in the day in recording the out. Ben then K'd the next Klouter batter to retire the side.

In the third inning, following an error and a walk, the Klouters had catcher Jo Jo Landel on 2nd and Marco Cooper on 1st with one out, but then on a well-executed pitchout Hanoi catcher Hoan fired to third base and caught Catcher Jo Jo Landel hung out to dry in a run-down between 2nd and 3rd to record the second out with 2B Phu An chasing JoJo down from behind after receiving the throw from 3B Nguyen Tuan Anh on a well-executed one-throw run down. Then, when lead off man Kosta Cooper, the elder of the two Cooper brothers from Edmonds, Washington playing in the game, attempted a surprise bunt with two outs, Hanoi pitcher Ben Nguyen Treutler got off the mound quick and raced to the first base line, gathered in the bunt, and fired to first baseman Duc Huy to just barely nip the speedy Kosta Cooper at first to end the inning.

In the bottom of the third, Hanoi pitcher Ben easily legged out an infield hit down the third base line and promptly stole 2nd. Then, the Klouters executed a pitchout perfectly with C Landel firing right on target into the glove of the waiting 3B Beau Turner who tagged out Ben to prevent the Capitals from doing further damage.

In the 4th inning, the Klouters attempted to rally when Henry Pratt laced a letter high two-strike fastball up the middle with one out. Then, Capitals pitcher Ben swiveled 180 degrees on the mound and nabbed Henry as he tried to steal second. It was bang-bang play to record the second out. Then, Connor Sand singled and Antoine Arnaud drew a walk for the Klouters who kept the pressure on by moving runners to second and third base, but the Hanoi hurler Ben whiffed the next Klouter hitter on three straight pitches to thwart the Klouter threat.

In the top of the 5th, with one out, Klouter OF Octavio Orona and Catcher Landel got on base after consecutive errors by the Capitals, and moved to second and third. Then, with his parents Marco and Lori Cooper looking on, Klouter OF Marco Cooper banged an 0-2 pitch into right field to drive in Orona and Landel to bring the Klouters within one run. The Capitals once again escaped, and got the second out when catcher Hoan quickly scrambled and picked up a Kosta Cooper bunt and fire to first on time, on a play in which elder brother Kosta Cooper successfully sacrificed to move his little brother Marco to third base. Second sacker Reidy then smashed a line shot to right field, but the Capitals slick RF "Rabbit" Thinh got a fine jump and glided in with an outstretched glove to corral the ball backhanded just before it hit the ground, and the Capitals once again robbed the hard-luck "Geo" of a hit.

In the bottom of the 5th, the Capitals answered the Klouter rally. CF "Lefty" Tong Hai crowded the plate and took one for the team, then stole second and third base. 2B Pham Phu An then looped a two strike pitch over the first baseman's head into no-man's land to drive in Tong Hai to score an insurance run and move the lead to 4-2. On the play, Klouter RF Parker "Pork Chop" Sand made a rare outfield assist to first base by quickly fielding the ball in short right and astutely firing a frozen rope to his older brother Connor at first base to beat Phu An to first to the astonishment of the the Hanoi crowd, which included their father Jon Sand and grandfather Loren Sand.

The Capitals continued to try to re-extend their lead as Ben Treutler then hit a long shot to left field again on an 0-2 pitch, once more within a few feet of the fence in nearly the same exact spot he hit the ball in the first inning, to record his second double of the game. Ben then stole third and led off, hoping to pad the Capital's 2-run lead. Then, there was a wild pitch, and Ben took off toward home to try to score another insurance run. Catcher JoJo Landel instantly discarded his mask and scrambled back to the backstop wall to run down the wild pitch. Landel lerched at the ball that had come to a stop against the backstop, pressed his hand down onto the ball, swiveled, and blindly made a pinpoint flip from the backstop wall into the vicinity of the batter's box on the third base side of home plate. Lightning quick Klouter reliever George "Geo" Reidy, a six-state Pitch, Hit & Run Finalist from the Northwest Region of the USA, charged in and seemingly from out of nowhere took flight about five feet from home plate, laid out forward as if he was doing a full gainer, and stretched out his glove to the third base side of home plate to all in one motion simultaneously snare the flip from Landel, block the plate and try to tag Ben who tried for naught to slide, scramble and crawl to the plate under, over and around the sprawled out Geo. Ben and Geo looked up from a tangle of arms and legs. The Japanese home plate umpire Mr. Miyake stayed stooped over home plate motionless and paused for a long moment, removed his mask, then roared: "He's OUT!"

Capitals RF Thinh and 3B Tuan Anh then walked, to set the table for clean up hitter C Lam Nguyen Khai Hoan, the MVP of the Vietnam Baseball Classic in Vinh Phuc who hit the game-winning grand slam in the Championship Game against Indonesia in January, 2011. Once again, Hoan delivered the big blow with a long two-out fly ball hit over the heads of the outfielders to score Thinh and Tuan Anh. CF Octavio Orona chased down the ball near the centerfield fence an hit relay man Connor Sand who had moved to SS. C-Man then fired a strike to new second baseman Kosta Cooper to gun down Hoan at second base when he tried to stretch his hit into a double, but only after Thinh and Tuan Anh had crossed the plate as they were running on the fly ball.

In the top of the 6th, after Klouter SS Nguyen Kha Duy made a fine play to snare a scalding line drive off the bat of Klouter Henry "Hammer" Pratt, the Klouters attemped to rally, with 1B Conner Sand singling off Ben. 11-year old Capitals LF Tran Trung Hieu, the team's long toss champion, then came in to close the game and displayed excellent command when he promptly struck out one Klouter and induced another batter to ground to first baseman Nguyen Duc Huy to end the game.

Capitals C Lam Nguyen Khai Hoan, played an outstanding game, allowing no passed balls and throwing out two runners at second base. Both pinch runners used by the Capitals, Phan Duc Tri and Do Quang Hieu each successfully stole a base.

The Capitals were coached by Tom Treutler, Pham Ngoc Phu and Dang Quyet Chien, and managed by Nguyen Ngoc Thuy. Bui Thu Giang and Phan Thanh Thuy were the Hanoi team moms. Head Coach Phil Rognier of the the Klouters was assisted by assistant coaches Jeff Pratt, Ken Reidy, Jon Sand, Loren Sand, Marco Cooper, and Andy Boes, as well as team moms Carolyn Landel and Lori Cooper.

Following the historic game, Microsoft and the FirstSwing Foundation also combined with the Hanoi Youth Baseball Club to organize a Pitch, Hit & Run contest for over 200 Hanoi youngsters that was run by the players and coaches from the game.

Hanoi Capitals founder and coach Tom Treutler commented: "The game today shows how far baseball has come here in just two years. I am proud of these kids - they have worked hard for this against a lot of odds, and deserve some success. The support and encouragement of Coach Phil and Microsoft has been critical to create a baseball movement here in Vietnam. I thank the young Klouter players and their parents for traveling so far for this event. When the Klouter kids grow up, they will realize they were really part of something special, and played a historic role in getting baseball going in Vietnam. Through Coach Phil's programs, our players have learned a lot of valuable life lessons that will help them in whatever they end up doing in the future, and they have learned real teamwork."

In the days leading up to the game, the Klouter players and coaches visited several local Hanoi elementary and junior high schools to introduce baseball to more than 3,000 Vietnamese children. On World Autism Day (the day before the game), the Klouter baseball "ambassadors" joined with local families of autistic kids in a 5,000 person March for Autistic Children in Vietnam.

Link to Box Score (At Bottom of Page)