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When given the choice, Tennessee pitcher AJ Russell opted to ‘let it rip’

On3 imageby:Eric Cain•about 11 hours•

_Cainer

Tennessee pitcher AJ Russell. Credit: UT Athletics
Tennessee pitcher AJ Russell. Credit: UT Athletics

It’s been a tough 12 months for Tennessee starting pitcher AJ Russell. After playing a limited role with the Vols in 2023, the righty stepped up to the Friday night starter position and dominated against nationally ranked Texas Tech in Arlington last February.

We know what transpired since, unfortunately. Russell was removed from his start the following week and made three different comebacks before finally being forced to shut things down. Tommy John surgery was the move, but an internal brace expedited the timeline to put him where he is now.

Back on the mound.

“I’ve kind of been looking forward to this for a long time with obviously sitting out a lot last year and then kind of watching the first half of – our first few games of this year,” the pitcher said following his first outing of the year on Tuesday. “I just kind of went out there and had fun and just kind of didn’t put any real expectations on myself or anything like that. Just kind of let it rip.”

Let it rip, indeed. It wasn’t an extended start, but it sure was memorable. He dazzled by striking out the side in the top of the first inning on 17 pitches (11 strikes) – his only inning of work against North Alabama. The velocity was there, too, hitting 96 miles per hour on several pitches in the frame and topping out at 97.

“I’ve learned a ton, obviously. I think I learned more about myself than I did about my body,” Russell said. “I don’t know if that sort of makes sense. I learned how much this game means to me and how much I love pitching and how much I want to be there for my teammates and that kind of stuff. And I think just kind of the whole process has taught me a lot. Just about a lot of mental stuff, a lot of mental coaching and that kind of thing. And all that – it’s been really big.”

The former Opening Day starter has good foundation to build off now. The coaching staff will continue to slowly build him back up and the opens will transform into multiple innings. Russell didn’t even know if he would throw Tuesday or not. He found out earlier in the day when coach Tony Vitello simply asked him over text.  

“He sent me an option this morning. He’s like, ‘you wanna throw in the game today or you wanna throw live abs [at-bats] tomorrow?’ And I was like, ‘I wanna throw in the game,’” Russell smiled. “Like, I’m tired of live abs and all that kind of stuff. So, it was kind of gave me the option and I felt good. And I’ve been recovering really well and feeling really good when I’m throwing, so it just kind of – all lined up.”

With plenty of excitement, and probably some nerves along the way, how was hurler able to channel his emotions and dominate his half-inning of play? It was easy. Just little to no expectations. Just go and throw.

“I kind of limited expectations kind of on myself. I wasn’t really expecting really anything on myself,” the righty said. “Kind of just go out there and have fun and kind of let it loose. The adrenaline kind of took over and kind of stopped thinking about it all and just kind of let it rip. I was kind of hoping for like a 94 mph, 95 here and there and it was coming out a lot better than I expected. So, it was good.”

Mission accomplished. Step one is complete for Russell as his first appearance is out of the way. Determining how he feels today and tomorrow through the rest of the week will be key. If all goes well, as expected, Russell will be back in the normal swing of things.

Will Russell pitch this weekend in Houston? Time will tell, but Tuesday was a great look for the future big leaguer.

“His work and his character will lead him into forcing our hand maybe a little quicker than we want, but we’re also going to be pretty dang patient,” Vitello expressed. “The next time out isn’t going to be much more than he just did. It’ll probably be more along the lines of what he just did.”

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