APPLETON, Wis. – Despite scoring first on a run from center fielder Ben Podobinski, the No. 6-ranked St. Thomas baseball team lost 10-7 to Emory University (Ga.) Monday in the NCAA Division-III College World Series at Fox Cities Stadium.

The Tommies, who were NCAA champions in 2001 and 2009, finished in third place nationally for the second time in three years, but coach Chris Olean said this year’s playoff run was special to him.

“This is a tremendous group of seniors,” Olean said. “It’s obviously bittersweet, but there’s a special place in my heart for this group of guys as my first full recruiting class. They worked their butts off for me for four years.”

The Tommies scored three runs in the first inning, including catcher J.D. Dorgan’s single that scored Podobinski, and a two-RBI single by right fielder Kelvin Stroik that scored Dorgan and left fielder Tim Kuzniar.

The Eagles scored two runs in the top half of the second inning off of RBI singles from third baseman Philip Maldari and left fielder Brett Lake, but the Tommies answered right back with third baseman Jack Hogan’s RBI single that made the score 4-2 in favor of St. Thomas.

Hogan’s single drove in Podobinski, who earlier in the inning joined Dorgan and Kuzniar as the third Tommie to reach 200 career hits this season. Podobinski said he owed Olean and the coaching staff a great deal of gratitude for believing in him and helping him to advance as a player.

“I can’t say enough about them,” Podobinski said. “I came here and they gave me a shot to play and told me how to use my talents and get the most out of my abilities.”

Emory scored two runs in the fourth inning to erase the St. Thomas lead and tie the game at four. Lake drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to right field, and designated hitter Daniel Iturrey drove in a run with an RBI groundout.

The Eagles added another run in the top of the sixth inning, then exploded for five runs in the top of the seventh to make the score 10-4. The Tommies answered in the bottom half of the seventh with runs from Kuzniar and Dorgan to cut the deficit to four, but Olean said the offensive outburst from Emory was too much to overcome.

“The wheels sort of fell off a bit,” Olean said. “There were some unfortunate bounces, and it was just a combination of being unlucky and good execution by the other team.”

St. Thomas added another run in the bottom of the eighth when Dorgan singled to score Hogan from second base, and mounted a rally in the bottom of the ninth when pinch hitter Logan Borg was hit by a pitch and Podobinski singled. In the end, the Tommies came up just short in their quest for the third National Championship in program history.

St. Thomas’ postseason run is notable for what the team accomplished without star first baseman Tyler Peterson, an All-America candidate and the MIAC Player of the Year.

This year’s St. Thomas baseball team may not have reached the summit of the NCAA Division III baseball world, but for Kuzniar, the memories and friendships forged with teammates throughout the years will stay with him forever.

“We grew as a team, and the bonds between us are never going to be broken,” Kuzniar said. “There will always be a brotherhood there, and that will never change.”

Tom Pitzen can be reached at pitz2014@stthomas.edu.