Pitcher AJ Russell left his start for Tennessee baseball against UAlbany on Friday with side soreness, Vols coach Tony Vitello said.

“He had some soreness in a certain part of his body," Vitello said." I don’t know if was necessarily arm. I kind of leave that up to those guys (on the training staff). Maybe it is my mechanism, I don’t have any control over it so I don’t want to stress it until we have the full word.

"We had enough word that it was better off taking him out of the game.”

Vitello said UT has had no previous concerns about Russell's health before the No. 8 Vols (5-1) beat Albany 8-5 in the series opener at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Russell threw three innings, struck out four, allowed three hits and walked one.

Senior Chris Stamos took over and earned the win after allowing two runs on one hit and two walks in three innings.

Russell, a sophomore, claimed the Friday night starter spot this season, while junior Drew Beam has opened the first two weekends as the Game 2 starter on Saturday.

Tony Vitello explains AJ Russell soreness against Albany

Vitello said the Vols have stressed to players to speak up if anything is bothering them physically. That was the case with Russell on Friday.

"He reached a point where to quote him to the training staff, he was reaching back and giving it all he had and didn’t feel like the ball was really coming out," Vitello said.

Russell threw 54 pitches with 36 strikes. He pitched around a first-inning walk. He allowed back-to-back one-out singles in the second before getting a strikeout and a groundout to second to end the inning. He struck out two in the third before giving up a single and then ended the inning without allowing a run.

"He kept his composure and made some nice pitches," Vitello said. "Off-speed might have been just as good if not better than last weekend. The fastball command wasn’t and eventually the whole thing got cut short.”

AJ Russell had a dominant first start this season vs. Texas Tech

Russell made his second career start for Tennessee when he got the ball in UT's season opener against Texas Tech on Feb. 16.

He struck out 10 in 4⅓ innings, including getting the first eight outs of the game via strikeout. He allowed two runs on three hits and a walk. He threw 73 pitches, 53 for strikes.

Vitello praised the work that Russell did during the offseason to put weight on his 6-foot-6 frame. He also said that Russell has made adjustments through his career in his throwing programs to stay healthy.

Russell was dominant as a reliever as a freshman. He was 2-0 with a 0.89 ERA in 30⅓ innings with 47 strikeouts.

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: AJ Russell: Tennessee baseball pitcher leaves start with side soreness