Tony Vitello expected AJ Russell wouldn’t make a second appearance for Tennessee baseball until April as the Vols exercised caution in the pitcher’s return.
April hit and the Vols coach immediately gave the ball to Russell, who is back — again.
“This was the restart of everything,” Vitello said.
Russell made his second start this season Tuesday, returning after a five-week break between starts. He threw a scoreless inning with a pair of strikeouts in No. 1 Tennessee’s 7-1 win against Tennessee Tech at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The junior had not pitched since Feb. 25. He struck out the side in an inning for the Vols (27-2, 8-1 SEC) against North Alabama in his first appearance since having Tommy John surgery in June.
“We kind of took a timeout and said let’s build up pitch count and get closer to the date that was target date,” Vitello said.
Russell said he felt great against Tennessee Tech (19-11). He threw 12 pitches with 11 strikes. He got both strikeouts looking with 94 mph fastballs. His offspeed pitches did not feel as sharp so he threw a brief bullpen after exiting the game.
The 6-foot-6 pitcher hopes to throw two innings in his next outing, which could come next week. Vitello planned to discuss the next steps with Russell on Wednesday as the Vols ready to play Texas A&M (14-14, 1-8 SEC) in a series starting Friday (7 p.m. ET, ESPNU).
Vitello suggested that Russell’s timeline now will be to get a routine with a “preparation bullpen and then a competitive day.” Most likely, that means Russell gets on the mound against Alabama State next Tuesday.
Russell expects to continue to add to his pitch count as he goes toward his season goal of 40 or 50 innings.
“I want to help this team win as much as humanly possible,” Russell said. “It is also you’ve got to be smart about it and not rush back and do anything that hurts you in the long run, too.”
Russell initially returned ahead of the expected timeline, which originally slotted him for ...
