Things ratchet up to another level for Tennessee baseball this weekend as the Vols head to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama in its SEC opening series.
Perhaps the biggest question for Tennessee entering the opening weekend of SEC play is the status of right-handed pitcher AJ Russell.
The sophomore hasn’t pitched in a game in 2.5 weeks dating back to Tennessee’s series opener against UAlbany when he exited the game after just three innings pitched with side soreness.
Following Tennessee baseball’s 17-2 run rule victory over Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday, Vitello discussed Russell’s recovery and touched on his status entering this weekend’s series at Alabama.
“He’s good,” Vitello said of Russell. “He threw a bullpen and we kind of checked the boxes. I don’t necessarily know how early in the weekend it will be or when it would be – the situation. But, if we felt like hey we needed to go and get someone tonight or we wanted to get him an inning tonight, we could have maybe pressed the issue there.”
While Vitello implied that Russell will be available to pitch this weekend he also emphasized that it is early in the season and that they’ll continue to be cautious with any injury at this point in the season.
More From RTI: Everything Tony Vitello Said After Tennessee Defeated Eastern Kentucky
Russell served as Tennessee’s Friday night starter in its first two weekends of the season and could potentially serve in a smaller role out of the bullpen this weekend.
“Early in the year still. Early and conservative,” Vitello said. “I get it. It’s a watermark and we are about to start conference play, but if you take a step back and look at the entire picture of the season, we just need to keep progressing as a team. … So, just being conservative.”
The sophomore pitcher was dominant in just 30.1 innings pitched as a freshman, striking out 47 batters while posting a 0.89 ERA. That dominance carried over to his first career weekend start, when he struck out 10 batters and allowed two earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched in the Vols’ season opening win over Texas Tech.
Russell’s velocity was down from the jump in his second start of the season against UAlbany but struck out four batters in a scoreless three innings of action.
The Vols head to Alabama for their SEC opening series ranked fifth nationally with a 17-1 record and riding a 16-game winning streak since their extra innings loss against Oklahoma.
First pitch for the weekend series is at 7 p.m. ET on Friday night as Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
