Five weeks ago, the Big Red thought they were going to kick off the season with a pair of games in Pennsylvania. However, Mother Nature had a different idea and Denison's 2015 opener was pushed back to March 15 in Port Charlotte, Fla. When the Big Red finally took the field they didn't disappoint their fans as they picked up an 11-8 win over Farmingdale State on opening day in Port Charlotte, Fla.

The offense was dialed in early on as the DU bat produced seven runs behind four hits and two Ram miscues in the first two innings. Senior Ryan Mulligan got the scoring going in the top of the first when he ripped a single up the middle that scored Alex Enrique. With Georgie Montes at the plate, Charlie Apfelbach added another run thanks to a David Otero Jr. balk. With two outs, junior Brandon Morgan knocked in Montes and Mulligan with a base hit through the middle.

After drawing a walk to open the second, freshman Jack Blanchard eventually came around to score on a two-base error by the Farmingdale State defense. With runners at second and third and two outs, Tanner Johnson belted a triple to right that allowed Montes and Mulligan to trot home. Johnson's two-run triple extended DU's lead to 7-0 through an inning and a half.

The Rams climbed back into the game with two runs in the second, another in the third and three more in the fourth to shrink the deficit to one. After two scoreless innings, the Big Red found their offense once again in the seventh. Blanchard extended DU's lead to 9-6 with a double to left that pushed across Tucker Davison and Nick Marsit. In their next at bat, Denison tacked on two more runs on four hits. Morgan came up with the key hit in the inning, driving in Johnson and Montes with a base hit through the left side.

Farmingdale State scored two times in the bottom of the ninth to make it an 11-8 contest. However, Mulligan came in from the field to pick up the one-out save after getting Tom Rydzewski to ground out to Joe LaPlaca, who entered the game during the multi-player switch that sent Mulligan to the mound.

Morgan and Johnson each went 3-for-5 with an extra-base hit. Morgan collected four RBIs, while Johnson drove in a pair and scored one time. Marsit also logged a pair of hits, while Blanchard drove in two. Montes and Mulligan combined for five runs. Freshman reliever Andrew Bruss picked up his first-career win after scattering three hits and striking out one in 2.2 innings of work. Sophomore Johnny Funkhouser went 3.1 innings in his first start of the year. Connor Hanrahan paced the DU pitching staff with two strikeouts in two innings out of the pen.

Rydzewski, Richard Sullivan, Nick Osburn and Dalton McCarthy all registered three hits for the Rams. McCarthy also had a team-high three RBIs. Otero suffered the loss after allowing seven runs (two earned) on four hits in two innings of work.

Denison improves to 1-0 on the year, while Farmingdale State falls to 0-3. The Big Red will play regional foes Heidelberg (10 a.m.) and Manchester (2 p.m.) on Monday in Port Charlotte, Fla.