GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College's Michael Flaherty '24 has made his baseball talents known throughout the Midwest Conference in recent years.
 
Recently, he had the opportunity to display them on an international stage.
 
Last weekend, Flaherty wrapped up a whirlwind appearance at the European Baseball Championship in the Czech Republic, participating for the runner-up Great Britain squad.
 
Great Britain cruised through pool play, posting wins against Sweden (4-0), Hungary (22-3) and Italy (11-10). The team followed with a 12-2 quarterfinal round victory over the host team and 8-4 decision over Germany in the semifinals. In the title contest, Spain topped Great Britain by an 11-2 score.
 
Flaherty is originally from New Hampshire, but the family moved to London when he was 10-years old. "It was a little different living there at first," said Flaherty. "Going from the suburbs to a city takes some adjusting, but I got used to it pretty quickly."
 
Through scouting and word of mouth, baseball officials in Great Britain took notice of Flaherty, who became a naturalized citizen after six years there. He had a successful venture participating in the European U23 Championship this summer and was promptly asked to play in the overall European Championship event.
 
Even though Flaherty was one of the younger players on the team, he started at third base every game and posted an on-base average of .400 while playing stellar defense.
 
 "It was such a cool experience," said Flaherty. "It was really crazy when we played the Czech Republic. They had the home crowd there rooting against us pretty hard. There were 2,500 fans there chanting and banging drums. It was an awesome atmosphere.
 
"Another big moment was when we beat Italy to finish pool play," he added. "That was pretty historic since it was the first time Great Britain had ever beaten Italy. A lot of teams there didn't figure we'd finish as high as we did. The whole thing was such a great experience – one I'll never forget."
 
Flaherty said the style of play differed slightly from the high levels of baseball in the United States. "There was a lot more bunting and situational hitting," he said. "But other than that, it was the same. It's all baseball at the end of the day."
 
Flaherty missed just over a week of classes while playing, but said his professors were more than understanding. "They were very good about it, and I thank them for that," said Flaherty, an economics major with a concentration in statistics. "Obviously I still had to do the work. But they understood what a big opportunity this was for me."
 
Flaherty, who will finish up fall practice with the Pioneer baseball team this month, is excited for the team's 2024 campaign. "I learned a lot from guys more experience than me at the European Championship," he said. "That provided me more knowledge of the game, and I'm excited to have the chance to share that in a leadership role with the team."