Tony Vitello updates the status of third baseman Billy Amick
Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello gave another update on the status of Vols third baseman Billy Amick ahead of this weekend’s Southeastern Conference series against the reigning national champions, LSU.
The slugger has missed the past eight games with an appendix issue. Though the skipper wouldn’t exactly say when Amick would return, Vitello is hopeful to at least have him available against the Tigers.
“I think so. I mean, he hasn’t gotten to the point where he’s taken a bunch of swings yet. The defensive part is ahead of the offensive part,” Vitello said this week. “You’d like to at least be able to put him on the weekend roster, so it’s an option if he gets to that point. Last weekend, he was not. So, that’s not very [specific]. I would give you a defined answer if I had one.
“I know he was going to meet with Doc Klenck [team doctor Chris Klenck] after the game tonight. We’d like to think that we could at least put him on that roster so he could be involved in whatever pregame activities he feels good about, and then maybe we’ll have some availability. It is still halfway point. All these games are valuable, but it is still halfway point of SEC play.”
Amick, who transferred to Tennessee via the portal during the offseason, has been fantastic for the Vols in 2024. The third baseman has started in all 25 games he played in this season and launched a grand slam in his final at-bat in a game three win over Ole Miss on March 23, his last game played. Amick drove in five runs in that ballgame.
At the time of the setback, Amick was tied with Christian Moore for the team-lead in home runs at 10. He was once tied for the team-lead at 26 RBI but has since fallen back to sixth in the category, due to the stacked lineup of the Volunteers. He was also named to the Midseason Watch List for the Golden Spikes Award last week.
During his absence, utility player Dalton Bargo – a fellow offseason transfer – has taken the bulk of the reps at third base. The former Missouri Tiger is hitting .339 over 61 at-bats on the season while appearing in 27 games with 14 starts. Bargo has blasted six home runs – including two in one game last weekend against Auburn – and driven in 22 runs.
“You’ve got other guys playing well, and you also look to your right, and you’ve got guys where you’re like, ‘Man, I think this guy could get it down for us, but other guys are [performing],’” Vitello continued. “I think we’ve got some capable guys, so there is no point in rushing him back. And it is nice to know … I mean, to lose a guy like that … I don’t think we have a best player, but at times he’s been our best player on both sides of the ball. So, you know, to lose him like that and be able to win some games has been huge.”
Tennessee returns to action this weekend against the Tigers as the SEC series will be televised every game. Friday (7:30 pm ET) will be on ESPNU while Saturday (5:30 pm ET) and Sunday (3 pm ET) will air on the SEC Network.
