Former UM Player Mike Connolly Pitches In The Pros

Former UMaine Black Bear Mike Connolly played in his first pro game Wednesday night. He pitched two-thirds of a inning for the SF Giants minor league team in the Arizona Rookie League.

Connolly was drafted in the 27th round by SF back in June after completing his junior year for UMaine. He opted to sign a pro contract and forego his senior year in Orono.

The AZL Giants play in the Rookie Arizona League. The team is 21 games into their season and in first place with a 17-4 record.

Connolly was a pitcher and catcher for the Black Bears but the SF Giants drafted him as a pitcher. In his pro debut, Connolly pitched two-thirds of an inning as a relief pitcher. He did not allow any hits and walked one.

Interestingly enough, Connelly's AZL Giants beat the A's rookie league team and the rightfielder for that team is Shawn Duinkerk. Senior League World Series fans may remember Duinkerk was the winning pitcher for Aruba in the championship game back in 2010 when Aruba defeated the Bangor SLWS team in the world title game.