Tennessee baseball is hoping to be near full strength when it takes the field this weekend against No. 4 Vanderbilt at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Starting shortstop Maui Ahuna has missed the Vols last three games and five of their last six games while starting second baseman Christian Moore missed Tennessee’s midweek clash against Tennessee Tech.
Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said that neither player is at 100% but that he’s optimistic that they’ll be able to play this weekend against the Commodores.
“I think you’re at the time of year where no one is a 100 percent, but then how far depleted do you get,” Vitello said. “It’s hard to grade out that percentage, but neither one of those guys will be sniffing that area. They’re both very competitive. I think with the rest of the team, they’ll do whatever they can to contribute this weekend and so, we’ll figure that out tomorrow, but I like the odds of them doing something for us.”
Ahuna is dealing with a “back side injury” that is expected to plague him for the entirety of the season. Balancing the shortstop playing through pain and playing effectively is the battle Tennessee is facing with his minor but lingering injury.
“You don’t want to go two steps forward and one step back,” Vitello said of Ahuna’s injury. “I think with what he’s kind of dealing with, there’s a good chance that those will go away. Picking when you want to go full speed, taking extra care when it relates to mobility or warm up stuff … Just having a plan, really. Having a plan and then on game day if you’re going to put yourself out there, you’ve got to put in the back of your mind and compete.”
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It was unclear that Moore was playing through pain before he was unavailable against Tennessee Tech Tuesday, sitting in the dugout in a walking boot. Vitello didn’t disclose Moore’s exact injury other than that it is a foot injury.
“Some sort of foot injury where putting weight on that or pressure is kind of sensitive right now, so better to have it in a boot and relieve that so you’re not compounding the situation,” Vitello said. “Then eventually you’re going to have to play with some pain if you’re going to play.”
Ahuna and Moore have both had inconsistencies on the field this season but are still two of Tennessee’s top position players.
Moore is hitting .300 with six home runs and 26 RBIs while Ahuna is hitting .284 with five homers and 22 RBIs. The two are tied for the team lead with six doubles.
First pitch for Tennessee baseball’s weekend series against Vanderbilt is at 6 p.m. ET Friday night. The SEC Network is broadcasting the game.
