Tony Vitello addresses Evan Russell's absence for Tennessee baseball vs. Alabama State

UPDATE: Evan Russell is available for Tennessee baseball's game against Campbell on Saturday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.

Read the latest news here.

Here is the original Knox News story from Friday:

Tony Vitello said he got a message from Evan Russell on Friday morning.

The Tennessee baseball catcher said he was sick, leading to him not being available for Tennessee baseball's 10-0 win against Alabama State on Friday. Vitello is not sure if Russell will be available Saturday for the Vols.

"We will give it some time to figure out what is going on because I got to get with (doctor Chris) Klenck," Vitello said. "I am going to always defer to those folks.”

Russell started 50 games for Tennessee this season, batting .299 with 13 homers. Redshirt freshman Charlie Taylor started in Russell's place. Taylor went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and an RBI on a sacrifice bunt on a squeeze play.

"Thanks for everyone's concern today. Life is more than baseball. But to let everyone know Evan is good. Thanks for the prayers!!!," wrote Jason Russell, Russell's father, on Facebook.

Taylor would likely be the starter for No. 1 Tennessee (54-7) against No. 3 seed Campbell (41-17) on Saturday (7 p.m. ET) in the regional semifinal if Russell remains unavailable. He said he has not started back-to-back games at catcher since high school.

Redshirt freshman Jared Dickey is an emergency catcher option.

"He wasn’t able to be here today so I wouldn’t think quick turnaround," Vitello said of Russell.

Vitello said Russell is not in COVID-19 protocols.

Russell has 38 career homers, tied with Todd Helton for the Tennessee program record. The Lexington, Tennessee, native has played in 228 games as a Vol, one short of Pete Derkay's program record.

Russell spent the majority of his first four seasons at Tennessee playing left field. He moved to catcher prior to the 2022 season after Connor Pavolony was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles and the Vols had a vacancy behind the plate.

Taylor has been his backup throughout the season. He started 10 games and played in 19 entering Friday.

"There wasn’t a conversation with Chuck," Vitello said. "There doesn’t need to be one.”

Taylor struck out twice and flew out to deep center. He executed a safety squeeze in the sixth, bunting down the first-base line to score Blake Burke from third.

Vitello rocketed from the dugout to congratulate Taylor as he returned to the dugout.

“It opened up an opportunity for Charlie and our guys to rally around one another because clearly that is a big piece there," Vitello said.

Tennessee fans gave Taylor a standing ovation before each of his at-bats, but the largest one followed his RBI sacrifice bunt.

“That was pretty awesome," Taylor said. "I was honestly a little bit nervous, but the way Blade (Tidwell) threw the ball and the way Vol Nation kind of rallied around me, I probably won’t ever forget that. That was a pretty cool moment for me.”

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.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Evan Russell: Tony Vitello on Tennessee baseball catcher absence