Union, N.J. (2/24/11) - Junior Mike Russo fanned 11 in his first appearance of the season to help the Kean University baseball team to a 9-2 win over visiting the College of Mt. St. Vincent Thursday afternoon in non-conference action. The win marks number 400 for head coach Neil Ioviero in his 14th season at the helm of the program. Ioviero has the second highest win total of any coach in Kean Athletic Department history behind longtime head men's soccer coach Tony Ochrimenko who has 440.

Russo (1-0) earned the win after tossing six innings of shutout ball allowing just one single.

The #3/4 Cougars (2-0) scattered their offensive production scoring in five separate frames. Kean plated two runs a piece in the first two innings. In the bottom of the first the Cougars scratched across two unearned runs after two Dolphin miscues. In their half of the second, junior Vinny Galya hit a one-out single to right-center and junior Dylan Laguna added a sacrifice fly for an early 4-0 lead.

Kean would go on to score runs in the final three frames thanks to an RBI singles from sophomore Stephen Nappe and senior Nick Nolan. Sophomore Nick Ramagli recorded an RBI through a bases-loaded walk and pinch-hitter Joe Lentini added an RBI groundout.

The Dolphins (0-1) were able to break up the shutout in the eighth inning as sophomore Kevin Coogan had an RBI groundout.

Senior Mike Trainor suffered the loss for Mt. St. Vincent. He allowed four runs, two earned, in four and two thirds innings of work. He also allowed four hit and two walks.

Galya finished the afternoon with a 2-for-3 performance with two stolen bases while Nappe (pictured right) added a 2-for-4 day. Rookie Shane Alvarez recorded Kean's first extra-base hit of the season with a pinch-hit double in the eighth.

The Cougars return to action on Saturday when they face Gwynedd-Mercy College at 1 p.m.