Tony Vitello gives health update on assistant Ricky Martinez after leaving with fever

Tony Vitello’s lineup and coaching staff looked a little bit different in Tennessee‘s 9-5 win over Belmont on Tuesday, as star utility man Jared Dicky was out with an injury and student assistant coach Ricky Martinez was out with illness. Martinez normally assumes the role of the team’s first base coach, one that Dicky took the reigns of during Tuesday’s game in his absence. An experience that took Vitello and Dicky some time to adjust to.

“Strange, but he liked it, and after a while he started speaking up a little bit,” Vitello said about Dicky as a first base coach.

Martinez played under Vitello in 2019 starting at shortstop for one season after previous stops at Sacramento State and Grayson College. Martinez led the Volunteers in doubles with 18, hitting .279 with 62 hits, 28 RBIs as well. He helped lead Tennessee to their first NCAA Regional appearance since 2005 and was selected in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks following the season, joining Vitello’s staff in the fall of 2021.

“Ricky was a warrior on the field and that’s a good thing, I think as a coach he’s done a tremendous job for us,” Vitello said. “But he had like a 102-point-something fever and he needed to go home and the rain delay basically allowed Woody (Jeff Wood, head athletic trainer) a chance to say go home, so Jared took over that role.”

Hopefully, Martinez will be back healthy for Tennessee’s final series of the regular season versus South Carolina which starts on Thursday. And Vitello is hoping the same can be true for Dicky, who now has missed the team’s last two games after suffering a shoulder injury Saturday versus Kentucky while sliding into home plate.

“He’s important to have around in the locker room, it’ll be the hotel this weekend, just on the field and kind of being a part of things. Whether he’s able to play or not, it’ll probably be the hitting that comes first before the defense, but I think there’s an opportunity where he could do something for us this weekend,” Vitello said.

Dicky being around his teammates as a positive presence is definitely important, but having him in the lineup would be a tremendous boost for the Vols. Dicky’s .352 batting average, 69 hits, and 46 RBIs all ranked No. 1 on the team before he was injured, and getting him back with the SEC Tournament around the corner would be huge plus for Tennessee.