Tennessee baseball heads west on Interstate-40 to play a pair of fall exhibitions this weekend. The Vols face Western Kentucky in Nashville on Friday night before facing Troy in Jackson on Sunday afternoon.
The exhibitions will provide a chance for Tennessee to get some work against an opponent other than themselves while also providing fans to get a look at Vitello’s eighth Tennessee squad with an abundance of new faces.
A few of the noticeable returning faces from Tennessee’s 2024 National Championship team won’t be available for the Vols this weekend against the Hilltoppers or Trojans according to Tony Vitello. Both utility man Dalton Bargo and infielder Ariel Antigua will be out after suffering injuries.
Bargo has been out the last week with a hand injury and Vitello noted that “he’s a little banged up right now” and that he doesn’t expect him to play this weekend.
The former Missouri transfer played in 50 games and started 27 a season ago for Tennessee, hitting .280 with eight home runs, four doubles and 27 RBIs. Bargo can play a number of different positions but will be thick in the competition to start at both first base and left field.
More From RTI: Everything Tony Vitello Said As Tennessee Baseball Works Through Fall Practice
Sophomore infielder Ariel Antigua has also been out as of late with a finger injury. He’s played in the field a little bit the last week but hasn’t been hitting or throwing overhanded.
“It’s frustrating because he really loves to play and therefore plays at a hundred miles an hour all the time and you’d much rather have that as a coach and you gotta rear it in, but it definitely still needs to be reared in,” Vitello said. “So that’s my preface to a story where he slides into first base, a crazy play, defensively, not sliding in as a base runner and jammed his finger.”
A similar injury sidelined Antigua to begin last season and hampered his offensive development as a freshman where he hit .217 with two doubles and four RBIs. Antigua earned a role as a late inning defensive replacement at shortstop last season. But while he’s worked there some this fall, he’s spending more time at second base and has worked at third base.
Another player worth monitoring their availability this weekend is Louisville infield transfer Gavin Kilen. The star transfer has missed some time in recent weeks and since returning this week has only served as designated hitter and hasn’t played in the field.
The Vols will play 14 innings against Western Kentucky on Friday. The number of innings are not yet set for the exhibition against Troy on Sunday. First pitch on Friday is at 7 p.m. ET at First Horizon Park while first pitch on Sunday is at 1 p.m. ET at Jackson Baseball Stadium.
