PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Denison baseball continued their hot start to the 2019 campaign on Thursday afternoon, defeating SUNY Cobleskill 7-1 in Port Charlotte, Fla. for their 11th win in their last 12 games.

Highlighted by seven runs on 16 hits throughout the game, the Big Red were led on the mound by senior right-hander John Troll who earned his third win of the season while shutting down the Fighting Tigers. In eight innings of work, Troll allowed one run on five hits and tallied five strikeouts.

After Troll and Cobleskill starter Daniel Wade kept both sides off the scoreboard through the first two innings of action, the Big Red struck first in the top of the third when sophomore Ty Robinson launched his second home run of the season to put DU ahead, 1-0.

Denison answered again in the top of the fourth with the bases loaded and two outs. With Vince Walker at the plate, Wade threw a wild pitch, allowing all three runners to advance and scoring Anthony Ruggieri from third to take a 2-0 lead.

Following an RBI double from Max Lahn in the fifth and a sacrifice fly from Ruggieri to drive home Brian McAuliffe in the sixth, the Big Red entered the eighth inning leading 4-0.

In the top of the eighth, Brad Baldinger opened the inning with a double down the left field line. Two batters later with a runner on third and one out, Nick Pettigrew collected his seventh RBI of the season on a single to left, scoring Baldinger from third and making it a 5-0 game.

In the next at-bat after Pettigrew stole second, Ruggieri notched his second RBI of the game on a double to right that scored Pettigrew. The hit parade continued for DU when Grady Paine drove home Ruggieri on a single to right, giving Denison a 7-0 advantage.

Leading 7-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Jack Arnstein relieved Troll and secured Denison's 11th win of the season with three strikeouts. The win moved DU to 11-2 on the year, while SUNY Cobleskill dropped to 3-7.

The Big Red bats were led by Robinson and McAuliffe who each posted three hits and two runs scored. Pettigrew finished 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. Ruggieri led DU with two RBIs.

Joseph Ciatto tallied three hits in four at-bats to lead the Fighting Tigers. Frank Leger went 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Denison and SUNY Cobleskill will return to Port Charlotte on Friday, March 22 to wrap up their two-game series. First-pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.