Elon’s Platt to Represent Great Britain at European Baseball Championship

ELON, N.C. – Elon University catcher Hayden Platt will travel to Austria and the Czech Republic as a member of the baseball team representing Great Britain at the 2017 U23 European Championship in August.

The tournament features 16 nations placed in four groups of four. Great Britain’s group (Group B) also includes Austria, Spain and Poland. The British side will begin play in Weis, Austria against the Austrian team on August 7 before taking no Poland on August 8 and Spain on August 9.

A top-two group finish is needed to qualify for the quarterfinals. The teams advancing from Group B will be matched with Group A’s advancing squads. Group A includes Belarus, Croatia, Netherlands and Russia. All games after the group stage will be played in the Czech Republic.

The other side of the bracket is made up of Groups C and D. Group C consists of France, Georgia, Germany and Slovakia. Group D is made up of teams from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Ukraine.

The stakes are high at the U23 Euros as a gold or silver medal is required to qualify for the 2018 U23 Baseball World Cup. Platt and his teammates will look to bring home Great Britain’s first medal since a runner-up showing at the 2007 European Championship.

Platt, who is the lone player on Great Britain’s squad to be making his National Team debut, was a third-team All-CAA selection after his first season at Elon. The rising senior hit .311 with 17 runs scored, nine doubles, seven home runs and 30 RBI during the 2016 campaign. In conference play, Platt was second in the CAA with a .391 batting average.