by Andy Minckler
andy@mincklermail.com
The Bangkok All-Stars U12 travel baseball team continues to enjoy its most successful season ever, having won 2 more tournaments over the holidays: The Bangkok Christmas Classic and the Manila Goodwill Games. Playing host to teams from Dubai and Singapore, along with Bangkok’s Japanese / Thai team, the Thunder, the All-Stars went undefeated in winning the Christmas Classic in thrilling fashion! Milan Pant provided much of the fireworks by hitting a dramatic walk-off (game ending) homerun in its final round robin game over the Thunder. Jake Shain also hit his first homerun of the year, in a classic back and forth battle with the Thunder. Milan, the deserved Tournament MVP, then answered the call again in the Championship final, smacking another walk-off hit to score the winning run in the bottom of the last inning vs. the Thunder. Championship #2!
The All-Stars then traveled to Manila for its 5th consecutive year participating in the Goodwill Games Tournament. Three very strong teams from the Philippines joined Bangkok and Singapore in the U12 division. The All-Stars got off to great start by winning all 3 of its first round robin games vs. Singapore, ILAM and Samar from the Philippines, guaranteeing them a place in the Final Championship game on Sunday. Matthew Minckler had a hot bat with numerous base hits, including 6 doubles. Oliver Ellison and Hiroki Saito also helped power the offense, along with some great defense. The All-Stars then faced a very different looking Samar team in the finals, with their big, ace pitcher on the mound this time. Samar drew first blood with a run-scoring single to take a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning. But the All-Stars took back the lead thanks to Justin Blumenthal’s shot over the fence in the bottom of the 4th inning, his 5th homerun of the tournament. Bangkok’s superior pitching and stingy defense then took over, highlighted by Cole Westerman’s two amazing catches in center field, one of which robbed Samar’s hitter of a homerun. The All-Stars eventually prevailed by a score of 6-1, for its 3rd straight tournament victory.
The Bangkok All-Stars U12 team will next play at home again, from 23-26 March in the SEABYST International Tournament, featuring teams from Jakarta, Perth, Singapore and Manila. Come out and support the team as we vie for our 4th title of the year!