The Tennessee Vols opened the championship round of the College World Series just as they did their first game at Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. But this time, there was no dramatic ninth-inning rally.

There’s still time for a comeback against Texas A&M. However, it will require two games, not one inning.

The Aggies took the lead in the best-of-three series with a 9-5 victory Friday night. UT, which lost for only the 13th time in 71 games, will need to win Sunday afternoon and Monday night if it hopes to claim its first national championship in baseball.

Although the Vols (58-12) are the No. 1 seed, losing to the third-seeded Aggies (53-13) was hardly shocking, especially because Texas A&M had its ace pitcher, Ryan Prager, on the mound. But the nature of the loss was striking because it revealed the same Tennessee shortcomings as the CWS opener against Florida State did.

The defense lapsed again. So did the unorthodox pitching combination (Chris Stamos starting and AJ Causey following quickly) that has served coach Tony Vitello so well for most of the season. The result: Another early deficit.

Two Tennessee errors figured prominently in it falling behind 7-1 after a five-run Aggies third inning, just as three errors had proved costly against Florida State.

Tennessee overcome a disastrous start against the Seminoles — thanks mainly to a clutch, four-run ninth inning — for a 12-11 victory that catapulted it into the winner’s bracket and a 3-0 start in the CWS.

It’s easy to second-guess Vitello’s strategy of opening with Stamos, who has failed to retire more than one batter in three of his past four starts. But the strategy had paid off for much of the season. Moreover, UT’s options diminished with the loss of injured pitcher A J Russell, who was expected to be its No. 1 starter.

If Causey had been as effective as during the regular season, the Aggies’ two-run first inning wouldn’t have been a problem. He wasn’t sharp, though, and that — coupled with shaky fielding — proved too much to overcome.

Tennessee had early scoring opportunities, but it couldn’t capitalize even though Aggies coach Jim Schlossnagle pulled Prager after he gave up a leadoff double to Blake Burke in the fifth inning. Relief pitcher Josh Stewart turned back the Vols with three consecutive outs and runners on first and second.

Starting pitching could shift in the Vols’ favor on Sunday with Drew Beam and — if Beam is successful — Zander Sechrist on Monday night. Texas A&M doesn’t have a deep pitching staff; it also has lost a starter to injury.

Nonetheless, the Aggies don’t lack quality. Pitching has been a team strength in winning nine consecutive games in the NCAA tournament.

Even with a seemingly comfortable lead though, their pitching was tested against the Vols, who entered the game leading the nation with 178 homers and have five batters with 20 or more home runs. Fortunately for the Aggies, they had a 9-2 cushion when Tennessee’s power surge came.

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Dylan Dreiling delivered a two-run homer and Hunter Ensley followed with a solo shot as Tennessee cut Texas A&M’s lead to four runs in the seventh inning. You can file that under “too little, too late.”

By then, the Aggies already had two home runs of their own. Gavin Grahovac opened the game with one, and Kaeden Kent hit a two-run homer in the seventh.

Texas A&M was superior to Tennessee in every area Saturday. But superiority can come and go in the CWS.

You saw that in the Vols' comeback against Florida State. Now, with no margin for error — and a championship hanging in the balance — they will need a two-game comeback.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee baseball: CWS title hopes need 2-game rally vs Texas A&M