Miami Gardens, Fla.—Friday night was a special night to remember. The former STU baseball Alumni's from the years 1997-2000 and fans all came to celebrate the jersey retirement of Vinnie Chulk at the halftime of the women's basketball game. 

Vinnie played at St. Thomas between the years 1997- 2000.  He was awarded Florida Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year in 1998, 1999, & 2000.  He was chosen as the Regional Pitcher of the Year in 2000.  He was drafted in the 12th round of the Major League Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2000.  Vinnie has been a professional baseball player for ten years.  He made it to the Major Leagues with Toronto as a relief pitcher in 2003.  He stayed with Toronto until 2006 when he was then traded to the San Francisco Giants.  He pitched for San Francisco between 2006 & 2008.  In 2009 he was with the Cleveland Indians.  In 2010 he split the year between the Pittsburg Pirates and Japan.  Recently he signed with the Oakland Athletics for 2011.

On Saturday, January 15, 2011 we played our annual Alumni Baseball Game at Frank Esposito Stadium.  Our Alumni's played a nine inning game vs. our 2011 STU baseball team.  The Alumni's had a strong showing and played well throughout the game.  They began with a strong first inning by scoring 4 runs with a first inning grand slam.  They stayed with the lead until the 7th inning when the 2011 team began to put together hits and multiple runs.  STU won 12-7 over the Alumni's.  It was a wonderful day for STU baseball and STU athletics. 

Go Bobcats