With Gavin Kilen limited for most of the month with a hamstring injury and Dean Curley badly struggling with throwing the ball from the left side of the infield to first base, Tennessee baseball used an abundance of infield defense variations during the month of April.
But with the calendar turning from April to May and Tennessee set to play postseason baseball this month, trial and error time is over as the Vols look to find their best nine for a postseason push.
Tennessee concluded the month of April with a midweek win over Northern Kentucky and head coach Tony Vitello mad a change in the process, starting Kilen at shortstop and Curley at second base. Expect that lineup to be the norm moving forward.
“We know what it’s going to look like when we take the field and it’s either going to be good enough or it’s not,” Vitello said. “So that’s what it’ll be.”
It’s not completely unfamiliar ground for either player. Kilen started at shortstop for Louisville last season before transferring to Tennessee. The two players spent all fall and preseason alternating between the two middle infield spots.
The Vols went with the strong armed Curley, who started at shortstop on Tennessee’s national championship team a season ago, at shortstop to open the season while Kilen played second base. By the time Curley’s defensive struggles began, Kilen was sidelined with the hamstring injury making it a larger predicament.
More From RTI: What Tony Vitello Said Following Northern Kentucky Win, Previewing Auburn
“I think that’s something at the beginning of the season we thought we would do anyway,” Vitello said. “We even talked about doing it mid-game. But you get off to a good start, which is hard to argue. I mean, it was a good start. So if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And the next thing you know, we got a hamstring injury that kinda throws things out of the loop. But blame it on me for not getting here faster.”
Curley has less game experience at second base and the sophomore’s defense is a bigger concern right now because of how much he struggled on the left side of the infield in April. However, Curley has been strong defensively in five starts at second base over the last month. It’s undoubtedly a small sample size but is a reason for optimism.
If this move proves permanent like Vitello stated, the question is how it affects others. Dalton Bargo started at third base on Tuesday and could continue to start there or left field. Manny Marin could also get some opportunities at third base. My biggest question is what does this mean for Ariel Antigua? Will the sophomore get any opportunities at third base? Or is he resigned to a mid game defensive sub?
The march to May is over and it’s time for Tennessee to get in a rhythm for the postseason. Some questions remain but the middle infield plan is clear.
“It is a group of position guys where you wish you could make out a 12-man lineup, but we can’t do that,” Vitello said. “So coming full circle in the month of May, we’ll go with pretty much some similar stuff you saw tonight.”
