WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Southern Connecticut State University head coach Tim Shea broke the program record for career wins with the 467^th of his career, passing Joe Bandiera's record of 466, as the Owls topped the College of Saint Rose, 3-1. With the win, the Owls pick up a crucial win in Northeast 10 Conference Southwest Division play to improve to 8-9 in the divisional standings and 19-25 overall.
 
Shea's 467 career wins have come over the course of 17 seasons as the Owls' head coach beginning in 2001 after serving as Bandiera's top assistant for the previous 11 seasons. Shea has averaged 27 wins per season across his career and has led Southern to six NCAA Tournament appearances (2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2017) as well as a pair of NCAA College World Series berths (2005, 2011). He also has nine 30-win campaigns under his belt including a program-record 45 wins in 2011 that saw the Owls win the NE10 Regular-Season Championship, the NCAA Regional and finish the year as NCAA National Championship Semifinalists.

Postgame comments by Tim Shea after career win No. 467 pic.twitter.com/L6kxhm1Ve0

— SCSU Athletics (@SCSU_Owls) May 1, 2019

 
Ronnie Rossomando (Stratford, Conn.) pitched a gem for the Owls, holding Saint Rose to a single run on seven hits while striking out seven over eight innings. Rossomando gave up a run on a pair of hits in the first inning before holding the Golden Knights scoreless over the next seven frames. A day after committing four errors in a 5-4 win at New Haven, the Owls defense spun two double plays to end the 3^rd and 5^th innings while Rossomando retired nine-straight batters from the end of the 5th through the top of the 8^th.  
 
At the plate, John Spoto (Stamford, Conn.) put the Owls on the board with a two-run double in the bottom of the 5^th inning while Jim Palmer (Milford, Conn.) also drove in a run. Nick Lamberti (East Haven, Conn.) was 2-for-3 with a walk.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Saint Rose's Stephen MacMeans singled in the first at-bat of the game before scoring on a two-out, bloop single by Kenney Fils-Aime to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead.
• The Owls got on the board in the 5^th when Connor Redahan (Greenwich, Conn.) walked to lead-off the inning before moving to third on Mike DeMartino's (New Haven, Conn.) double to right field.
• After Nolan Cloutier fouled out, Spoto blasted a line drive over the Golden Knights' leftfielder's head to score Redahan and DeMartino and give Southern a 2-1 lead.
• Palmer then singled to left center to score Spoto from second to give the Owls a two-run lead, 3-1.

 
NOTES

• Lamberti's 3^rd inning single was the 219^th of his career, moving him past Chris Borelli's 218 career hits for sole possession of the fifth spot on the career hits list.
• Rossomando has been locked-in in his last three starts as he's allowed one earned run on 11 hits over 21 1/3 innings for a 0.42 ERA with 25 strikeouts.
• Rossomando's 73 strikeouts are the most in a single season since Pat Egan had the same amount in 2015.
• Mike Ferrett (Hamden, Conn.) made his team-leading 13^th appearance of the season and recorded his third save of the year after pitching a perfect 9^th inning. Ferrett has allowed eight runs in 22 innings of work for a team-leading 3.27 ERA.
• The Owls' 111 doubles this year are their most in a season since 2001 when they recorded 129.

 
UP NEXT
Southern will play the final game of the regular season on Thursday, May 2 when they host Pace in a pivotal Northeast 10 Southwest Division matchup at The Ballpark at SCSU in New Haven, Conn.