Appleton, Wisconsin - The Trinity University Tigers dropped their opening game of the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship to the Emory University Eagles at Fox Cities Stadium. 

In a game that started as a pitching duel, Trinity looked to be in control, taking a 3-0 lead midway through the contest. However, a five-run sixth inning, followed by runs in the seventh and eighth innings, gave the Eagles a 9-3 lead before they held off a late Trinity rally for the 9-7 win.

After three innings of no-hit ball, Connor Moore started Trinity's offensive drive with a single to center field in the top of the fourth inning. Following a single by Jeremy Wolf that moved Moore to third based, Drew Butler picked up an RBI to give the Tigers the early 1-0 lead.  In the fifth inning, Trinity added two more runs, thanks to RBI from Moore and Austin Singer to move their lead out to 3-0.

All-America pitcher Ryan Gray started off strong, retiring nine straight Eagles players over the first three innings. But Emory exploded for five runs in the sixth to take over the lead. Gray was pulled in the bottom of the sixth, allowing three runs on two hits, and struck out five batters in the game. He was replaced by Teddy Turner who took the loss, dropping to 3-2 on the season. Nick Griffith and Michael Maul finished the game in relief.

The scrappy Tigers did not go down easily. An RBI from Colin Serkowski, Carter McEachern, Wolf, and Butler brought Trinity within striking distance at 9-7. The Tigers had two on with the go-ahead run stepping into the plate. However, a pop-up ended the threat and the game, sending the Tigers into the loser's bracket.

Moore batted 2-for-4 with an RBI, and scored two runs. Singer accounted for two of the Tigers runs, while Serkowski and Butler each drove in two runs.

Trinity now stands at 37-13 and will play an elimination game tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. The Tigers will take on the loser of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Salisbury University, who meet late Friday night. Emory improved to 31-13 and will meet the winner of the Wisconsin-La Crosse/Salisbury game in the night cap.