Junior right-handed pitcher AJ Russell made his second appearance in 2025 for No. 1 Tennessee (27-2, 8-1 SEC). The Vols defeated Tennessee Tech, 7-1, at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Russell started and pitched one inning for the Vols. He recorded two strikeouts and allowed one hit.
Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello discussed Russell's second appearance in 2025 as he returns from Tommy John surgery.
"It was good that it was efficient, because right or wrong, and maybe kind of put a little extra pressure on the kid and told him, 'Hey, it's gonna be four or five hitters no matter what,'" Vitello said.
Russell totaled 12 pitches, including 11 strikes, against four batters. He also forced Tennessee Tech into one groundout.
"The fact that it was efficient, and, you know, didn't get to a situation where you got to pull him or anything like that, was great," Vitello said. "Also, the ball was coming out of his hand, and I think the benefit of him throwing a ton in this rehab process is, instead of just throwing every pitch like he's trying to throw it through a brick wall, he can pitch a little bit. You saw the velo kind of sporadic there, and that's intentional. It's not because he can't repeat his delivery or anything like that, so a lot of positive and I think he even went down to the bullpen and worked on some things off-speed wise, so the more reps, the better for him."
This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Tony Vitello discusses AJ Russell's second appearance for Vols in 2025
