To open the season, Tennessee dropped a match to Arizona. Following the defeat, the Vols hoped to bounce back with a game against Grand Canyon.

However, Tennessee couldn't close out the game against the Antelopes after taking an early lead. The Vols ultimately lost 4-3.

Here are key takeaways from the defeat.

Last season, Tennessee proved to be the nation's best team during the regular season. This featured a 31-1 start including wins in the team's first eight games.

Under Tony Vitello, the Vols have been known for these hot starts. However, this year, Tennessee has limped out of the gate. The loss to Grand Canyon marks the second-straight defeat to begin the season.

The last time the Vols lost a pair of games to start the year was in 2018. That year's squad fell to Maryland in the opening two battles before taking the third game 13-6.

That season, Tennessee finished 29-27 and failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. It was also Vitello's first year as the Vols' skipper.

However, this year's team is much more equipped to get back on track than the 2018 team. There is star power throughout the entire lineup and Tennessee's pitching staff is among the best in the country. The Vols haven't gotten out to a great start but they are still primed to compete with the best teams in the country.

In the loss to the Antelopes, physical and mental errors proved to be the difference. By the end of the game, Tennessee was listed as committing three errors.

The first error came in the second inning by Blake Burke. The first baseman couldn't cleanly field a grounder leading to a runner on first. However, the Vols got out of the situation with a double-play by the ensuing batter.

Next, Charlie Taylor was responsible for the error. In the sixth inning, the catcher made a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt. This led to the tying run scoring from second and the batter reaching second base.

Finally, Austen Jaslove was listed with the last error. Jaslove was forced into a quick throw that came up short to Burke. Burke wasn't able to make the play and the ball popped into the air. This led to the game-winning run coming across the plate from second base.

Not only were these errors in the field crucial, but Tennessee also made mistakes on the bases. The most noticeable one was in the eighth inning when Zane Denton attempted to advance to third base on a single to right field. Denton was gunned out by multiple steps ending the inning.

This combination of avoidable mistakes was critical in the loss. If these were cleaned up, Tennessee may have found itself in the win column.

Last year, Tennessee quickly found its groove. The team had a mixture of returning players and newcomers that meshed into an unstoppable force.

However, this year, the Vols have gotten out to a much slower start. The pitchers haven't seemed to fully settle in and the bats haven't woken up. The starters have given up early runs in both contests and the offense has combined for four runs between the games.

Despite this, there isn't a reason to worry. Vitello has stated that the team is still figuring out what it does best and that it is unfair to compare the team to last year's finished product at the beginning of this year.

On the roster, Christian Moore is the only player who saw over 100 at-bats for the Vols a year ago. The rest of the team has limited experience at the college level or within Tennessee's program.

With key pieces in Maui Ahuna and Griffin Merritt yet to play a game, there is plenty of help on the way, as well. The baseball season is long and the team will likely figure it out sooner than later.

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