Did Tennessee baseball find its shortstop? Vols baseball vs. Albany takeaways from sweep

Tony Vitello has more options at shortstop than ever before in his seven-season Tennessee baseball tenure. The Vols coach may well have found the answer from the crowded field during a five-game week at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Freshman shortstop Dean Curley was one of the offensive stars in that stretch that No. 9 Tennessee (7-1) capped with a sweep against Albany. The Vols won 8-5 in the opener before blasting the Great Danes 21-6 and 12-0 in the Saturday and Sunday wins.

Here are the takeaways from the weekend:

Dean Curley is making a shortstop statement

Curley’s debut was delayed by an injured hamstring. The freshman shortstop was worth the wait and looks like the early answer at the position.

Curley slugged a three-run homer and a triple Wednesday against ETSU in his debut, then kept hitting against Albany. The Californian had a hit Friday then hit another three-run homer Saturday.

“He’s really strong, but also he’s got a good, compact swing,” Vitello said Saturday. “I don’t think he’s ever really trying to do too much in there. He just missed one in his first at-bat and made a minor adjustment going into the one that finally got it going for us.”

UT entered the season unsettled at shortstop. Freshman Ariel Antigua, the probable starter, is sidelined with a hand injury. Junior Christian Moore opened at shortstop, but moved back to second base with Curley in the lineup.

Curley left Sunday’s game after he was hit by a pitch in the back of his head. Vitello said Curley was evaluated and was fine. UT could hold Curley out of midweek game against High Point on Tuesday as a precaution.

AJ Russell injury update after leaving Friday’s game

Vols starting pitcher AJ Russell left Friday’s opener with side soreness. Vitello said Sunday that UT will take a conservative approach with its Game 1 starter. He was unsure if that meant Russell will skip a start against Bowling Green.

Russell threw three innings, struck out four, allowed three hits and walked one. He struck out 10 in 4⅓ innings against Texas Tech in the season opener, including getting the first eight outs of the game via strikeout. 

Robin Villeneuve, Dalton Bargo make cases to be in the lineup

Vitello continues to tinker with the lineup to find the best overall grouping for Tennessee. That meant extended opportunities for Robin Villeneuve and Dalton Bargo against Albany and both took advantage.

Villeneuve, a junior-college addition, has proven he is a slugging right-handed bat. He is hitting a team-high .563. He came in as a first baseman but started in left field against Albany to get his bat in the lineup. He homered Saturday and Sunday.

Bargo got back-to-back starts Saturday and Sunday. He was a triple shy of the cycle Saturday and had a multi-hit game Sunday. He is hitting .400.

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“Really good to start to get settled (those guys) and show that they can play a variety of positions,” Vitello said.

Tennessee has an early penchant for big innings

Tennessee got to hanging crooked numbers in its five-game week. The Vols scored 11 in the third against ETSU on Wednesday and five in the third Friday before posting a nine-run fourth and a five-run sixth Saturday. UT had a six-run sixth Sunday.

“It’s been a group that kind of feeds off one another when a couple guys do well or when something goes right,” Vitello said. “I think it’s an explosive offense that may just need to get a little bit better at finding some consistency when that big inning isn’t occurring.”

UT capped the sweep with a balanced performance, scoring in five of six innings in the run-rule defeat.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.