ROCK HILL, SC--Former Winthrop pitching ace and Hall of Fame member Kevin Slowey made the opening day roster of the Miami Marlins.

The Marlins purchased the contract of  Slowey from Triple-A New Orleans on Sunday after the 29-year-old right-hander pitched well in Grapefruit League play, posting a 2.20 ERA, while striking out 11 and allowing only one walk in 16.1 innings of work during Spring Training.  Slowey pitched three perfect innings in his final spring outing against the Yankees last Friday.

Slowey, a 6-3 right hander from Conroe, TX, was the 73rd pick in the second round of the 2005 Major League Draft by the Minnesota Twins.  He made his Major League debut with the Twins on June 1, 2007 and pitched in Minnesota for five years before joining the Marlins in 2013. 

Last year for the Marlins, Slowey appeared in 20 games with 14 starts. He went 3-6 with a 4.11 ERA, striking out 76 in 92 innings before being put on the disabled list on July 28 with a right flexor strain that forced him to miss the remainder of the season.

His career record stands at 42-35 with a 4.58 earned run average and 471 strikeouts.

He came to Winthrop in 2002 on an academic scholarship and went on to be named a third-team All-American by Baseball America in 2005 when he had 14-2 record with 126 strikeouts, only 13 walks issued, and a 2.16 ERA. In his three seasons at Winthrop, he set school records with 331 strikeouts and 29 wins.  He also holds the Winthrop single game strikeout record with 19.

Slowey was inducted into Winthrop's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.