Union, N.J. (3/27/14) – Rookie Mike Occhi picked up his first collegiate win as the #4 Kean University baseball team topped St. Joseph's College-Long Island by the final of 3-1 Thursday afternoon.

Occhi in his first outing this spring allowed just one run in six plus innings of work.  The southpaw also allowed three hits, all singles, and three walks while striking out four.  With the win, the Cougars improve to 14-3 overall.

Kean got all their runs in the bottom of the second as sophomore Sal Taormina got things started with a one-out single and moved to second on a fielding miscue by the outfield.  A groundout from senior Matt Horican moved Taormina 90 feet away.  Sophomore Ryan Reitmeyer drove in the game's first run with an RBI single.  Catcher D.J. Ross followed with a single of his own and both crossed the plate as senior Shane Alvarez lined a triple into the gap, giving Kean a 3-0 lead.

That would be all the pitching staff would need as Occhi allowed just a single run and fellow rookie Richie Ferguson closed things out with two and two thirds innings of shutout ball.  Ferguson picked up his second save of the year as he allowed just one hit and one walk with one strikeout. 

Offensively, Taormina, Reitmeyer and sophomore Eric Fernandez all collected two hits on the afternoon for the Cougars.

Junior Glenn Patriss (1-2) suffered the loss for the Golden Eagles.  Patriss allowed three runs and 10 hits in seven and two thirds innings of work. 

The Cougars look to open New Jersey Athletic Conference play on Saturday when they host Rutgers-Camden in doubleheader fashion beginning at 11:30 a.m.