Mistakes, squandered opportunities pile up for Vols in loss to Texas A&M

OMAHA, Neb. — The hits just kept coming. The errors did, too.

An uncharacteristic third inning from Tennessee's defense, filled with hits with runners on and its second error in as many frames, turned a one-run game into a sizable deficit for the Vols against Texas A&M in Game 1 of the College World Series finals on Saturday.

The accumulation of those mistakes was a 9-5 defeat at Charles Schwab Field that puts Tennessee in a 0-1 hole in the best-of-three national championship series.

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The 1-seed Vols (58-13) were no stranger to a deficit, especially in this CWS, but the Aggies' (53-13) five-run inning was too much to come back from, despite consistent nights at the plate from Hunter Ensley and Dylan Dreiling, who combined for two home runs.

Pitching woes plagued Tennessee right out of the gate, with starter Chris Stamos (3-1) exiting in the first. The Vols went through six arms and were able to keep Texas A&M from piling on until Kaeden Kent hit a two-run insurance home run in the seventh.

Tennessee

1. Christian Moore (R) - 2B

2. Blake Burke (L) - 1B

3. Billy Amick (R) - 3B

4. Dylan Dreiling (L) - LF

5. Hunter Ensley (R) - DH

6. Kavares Tears (L) - CF

7. Dean Curley (R) - SS

8. Reese Chapman (L) - RF

9. Cal Stark (R) - C

LHP Chris Stamos

Texas A&M

1. Gavin Grahovac (R) - 3B

2. Jace LaViolette (L) - RF

3. Jackson Appel (B) - C

4. Hayden Schott (L) - DH

5. Ted Burton (R) - 1B

6. Caden Sorrell (L) - LF

7. Ali Camarillo (R) - SS

8. Kaeden Kent (L) - 2B

9. Travis Chestnut (R) - CF

LHP Ryan Prager (9-1, 2.88)

Chris Stamos' first two pitches were called strikes. His third to Gavin Grahovac went more than 375-feet into right field for a lead off home run that put Texas A&M ahead, 1-0 early.

Two at-bats later, Jackson Appel doubled down the line in left and a fielding error on Dean Curley posted runners on the corners for the Aggies with one out. The result was a short outing for Stamos and A.J. Causey coming in out of the bullpen.

Causey immediately tossed a strikeout, but Caden Sorrell singled up the middle to score another run and extend the Texas A&M lead to 2-0. Causey held the damage there, getting Tennessee out of the inning on another strikeout.

After the Vols went down in order in the bottom half, Causey settled in in the bottom of the second, throwing two more strikeouts and a ground out to retire the side to get Tennessee back to the home half.

Dylan Dreiling knocked the Vols' first hit in the second, a grounder to short that Ali Camarillo was unable to make a play on to get a runner on with no outs. Hunter Ensley moved him into scoring position with a line-drive single to center.

Curley drove Dreiling in with an RBI single to pull Tennessee within one at 2-1, but a fly out and line out at first followed, ending the inning with the Vols still trailing.

Jace LaViolette drew a lead off walk and Appel hit a hard comeback that deflected off of Causey's glove and allowed him to reach safely. Hayden Schott stretched the Aggies' lead to 3-1.

Cal Stark made a play at the plate to keep a run off the board, but it didn't stop the bleeding. The Aggies scored four more runs in the frame, one helped by a throwing error from Billy Amick while Sorrell tallied his second RBI and Kaeden Kent scored two on a single to put Tennessee in a 7-1 hole.

Ensley got one back in the third with his second a hit, a single to left that scored Blake Burke, but a strikeout stranded two runners and prevented the Vols from adding more.

Kavares Tears provided Tennessee with another big defensive play in center field, diving at the warning track to rob Ted Burton of a hit and potentially a run to get the Vols out of the inning unscathed.

Texas A&M threatened to add to its lead again in the fifth with runners on, but Kirby Connell, who was pitching in relief of Causey, caught Camarillo stealing at third and Marcus Phillips, fresh out of the bullpen, kept the Aggies off the board for the second-straight frame with a strikeout.

Burke led off the fifth with a double to the wall in left-center and forced Texas A&M into a pitching change, pulling starter Ryan Prager for Josh Stewart.

Stewart gave up a walk to Amick, giving Tennessee a pair of base runners with no outs, but the Vols couldn't take advantage of the situation. Stewart struck out Ensley for the first time and then Dreiling. A ground out at first left them empty-handed.

Squandered opportunities continued to cost Tennessee in the seventh. Kent's second hit of the night was a two-run shot to right that ended a scoring drought and upped the Aggies' lead to 9-2.

After three scoreless innings for Tennessee, Dreiling brought some life back to the Vols' offense in the seventh, homering to right good for two runs and trimmed the deficit with one out.

Ensley mashed another right after, sending one into the bullpen to bring Tennessee within four runs at 9-5.

Dalton Bargo joined a lengthy highlight reel of catches from the Vols' outfield over the last four games. His dive and back-handed grab of a ball started a 1-2-3 frame for reliever Dylan Loy.

Amick and Dreiling tried to start a rally in the ninth with back-to-back hits to get two on with one out...

1. Kavares Tears makes a diving catch to get Tennessee out of the fourth inning.

2. Dylan Dreiling's two-run home run cuts Tennessee deficit in the seventh.

Tennessee will need to win two-straight games to claim the program's first national title.

The Vols will turn to right-handed starting pitcher Drew Beam in Game 2 at 2 p.m. ET on ABC. A win would force a winner-take-all Game 3 on Monday.

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