Sonoma Stompers Release | RPI Athletics on Twitter

TROY, N.Y. - Sean Conroy will make his first professional start on June 25 for the Sonoma Stompers of the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs in the midst of the team celebrating Pride Month and kicking off Pride Weekend in Northern California. Conroy, an openly gay player, has been pitching out of the bullpen since joining the team in late May. 

"I've always played baseball because it was fun and I loved the sport," said Conroy, according to a release by the team. "Being gay doesn't change anything about the way I play or interact with teammates. I hope that in leading by example, more LGBT youth will feel confident to pursue their dreams, whatever those dreams may be."

In seven innings over six games as a professional, Conroy is 1-0 with four saves. He has allowed two hits and one unearned run with a walk and six strikeouts in helping the Stompers to a 13-3 record. ?

Conroy (Clifton Park, NY / Shenendehowa), a righthanded starter for the Engineers, went 6-2 with a 1.87 earned run average in 15 apperances (12 starts) for RPI this season, leading the team to the NCAA Tournament. Recording a save, he allowed 27 runs (17 earned) on 67 hits in a career-high 82.0 innings, striking out 87, while walking 21. The D3baseball.com Second Team All-America selection held opponents to just a .223 batting average. He struck out six or more batters in seven starts, including a career-high 16 on April 12 against Bard College.

The Liberty League Pitcher of the Year, Conroy was 5-0 with a 1.48 ERA in six conference starts, allowing 10 runs (7 earned) on 35 hits in 42.2 innings. Also an ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-New York Region selection, he struck out 50 batters, with 10 walks and gave up a .220 opponent average.

In 52 career appearances (33 starts) at Rensselaer, Conroy went 21-7 with a school-record 2.05 earned run average. He allowed 86 runs (59 earned) on 211 hits in 259 innings, striking out 223 and walking 49. Opponents hit .220 lifetime off of him.

Conroy helped RPI to a 29-17 record this season, including an 18-6 mark and a first place finish in the Liberty League. The Engineers captured the tournament title and the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. At the New York Regional, the Engineers opened with a pair of wins before falling to nationally first-ranked SUNY Cortland. The team won an elimination game over Oberlin College to make the championship round, before being knocked out by Red Dragon, who went on to win the 2015 National Championship.