Gavin Kilen listed as questionable on availability report ahead of South Carolina series
Tennessee baseball listed two players as OUT and one questionable on the Thursday student-athlete availability report ahead of the Vols’ weekend series at South Carolina, beginning on Friday evening at 7 o’clock on the SEC Network+.
Junior second Gavin Kilen, who has missed four-straight games with a hamstring injury, is listed as questionable while right-handed pitcher AJ Russell and first baseman Alberto Osuna is listed as OUT.
“Gavin is better. Making progress, for sure,” Tony Vitello said after Tuesday’s game. “He’s been able to swing a little bit. We’ll probably go slower than he wants on that, but, you know, we’ll see. There’s a good chance he could at least do something this weekend.”
The infielder was ruled out of each game last weekended in the series-win at Alabama after initially being listed as questionable on Wednesday. The junior took some contact late in Tuesday’s midweek loss to East Tennessee State and was seen limping after the game a week ago.
Vitello confirmed during the in-game broadcast Thursday night on ESPNU (vs. Alabama) that Kilen is dealing with a hamstring injury and that he was considered day-to-day. He gave another update on Saturday following the series-win on the road.
“I think it’s slowly getting better, but it’s probably at least an eight, nine, 10-day thing,” the coach said postgame on Sunday. “So, as I mentioned, we’ll first look at the ability to maybe pinch hit and then maybe just hit. Maybe defend after that. And then base running will be last. He’ll probably be asked to chill a little bit there. So, daily progress, but probably not playing on Tuesday.”
Kilen led Tennessee in average (.431), hits (31), home runs (10, RBI (25), runs (32) and slugging percentage (.986) at the time of his injury. Starting third baseman, freshman Manny Marin, shifted to the keystone this past weekend while Dalton Bargo got the start in the hot corner in game one at Alabama. Dean Curley slid down to play third base in the final two games. Freshman Chris Newstrom started at second base on Tuesday.
Top 10
- 1New
Baseball Field of 64
Projecting NCAA Baseball Tournament
- 2
ESPN Top 25
Way Too Early hoops rankings
- 3
Pop Isaacs
Creighton guard commits to Houston
- 4Hot
Mel Kiper
2-round mock draft
- 5
Seth Trimble
Announces UNC return
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
Russell was listed as OUT as he continues working back from offseason Tommy John surgery. The potential first-rounder made his initial return on February 26, making the midweek one-inning start against North Alabama with a clean 1-2-3 frame.
“It was a deal where AJ’s an abnormal kid and he got ahead of that program quicker than the average guy,” skipper Tony Vitello said of Russell three weeks ago. “So, I think it’s time for everybody that’s involved to take a deep breath, have a conversation and say, ‘he showed what he can do’. We feel good about the throwing program and the protocol, but let’s take a deep breath and look out for the long run of what we’re trying to do with our season and his career combined.”
Transfer Alberto Osuna, who is still fighting for his eligibility this season, is also listed as OUT and will not be available this weekend.
The No. 1 Vols (23-2, 5-1 SEC) took the series on the road last weekend at No. 12 Alabama, wining the final two bouts after dropping the opener. The Gamecocks (17-9, 1-5 SEC) have lost four-straight with only one conference win to date coming in game two at home against Oklahoma on March 15.
Paul Mainieri is back in the game and in his first season as the head coach of South Carolina following a three-year retirement. He was the head coach at LSU from 2007-2021, winning the College World Series in 2009.
