With one weekend to go in the regular season, Scott Stricklin’s Georgia baseball team is sitting in an enviable position as far as post-season is concerned.

At 39-14, 18-9 in the SEC East, the Bulldogs are right on the cusp of locking up a top-four seed for next week’s SEC Tournament in Hoover, which would guarantee the team a bye until Wednesday when the double-elimination portion of the six-day tourney begins.

Currently, Georgia sits fourth, two games behind Vanderbilt, which leads both the East and sits atop the overall conference standings with its gaudy record of 41-10, 20-7 in the league.

West-leading Arkansas is right behind at 39-13 and 19-8, followed by Mississippi State at 42-10 and 18-9. Of course, the Maroon hold the tiebreaker edge over Georgia after their sweep three weeks ago in Starkville.

Georgia holds the tie-breaker edge over Vanderbilt after taking two of three from the Commodores, so there are all sorts of scenarios that will be up for grabs when the Bulldogs host Alabama (29-23, 7-20) for three in what is a sold-out series beginning Thursday night (7 p.m.).

All the Bulldogs need to guarantee themselves at least the fourth-seed for next week’s conference tourney is one win in the three games, or have Ole Miss drop one of three at Tennessee.

Either way, Georgia is essentially guaranteed the coveted bye for next week’s conference tournament, although sights have somewhat already been set past what happens at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

For Georgia, it’s all about positioning in regard to the NCAA Tournament and earning a coveted Top 8 National seed.

Here’s where things currently stand:

According to the Division 1 Baseball RPI rankings on NCAA.com, the Bulldogs sit at No. 5 behind Vanderbilt, UCLA, Mississippi State and East Carolina. Arkansas is No. 6, followed by Georgia Tech at No. 7 and Louisville at No. 8

Why is this a big deal? Simple. It means that if Georgia is fortunate enough to win its regional—which will be in Athens—then the Bulldogs would get to host the best-of-three Super Regional to determine who makes it to the College World Series in Omaha. For those wondering, Georgia is 25-3 in games this year at Foley Field, and two of those losses were by scores of 1-0.

If recent results are any indication, the Bulldogs are already close. Last year, Georgia finished the regular season 37-17, and despite going 0-2 in the SEC Tournament, earned a No. 8 national seed. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were unable to take advantage, losing to Duke in the championship game of the Athens Regional.

Pitching and defense. It’s really that simple.

Although many of the names were the same, a year’s experience and maturity have made all the difference to a staff that one could argue is one of Georgia’s best in recent memory.

For example: Last year, Emerson Hancock struggled as a freshman, going 6-4 with an ERA of 5.10. Entering this weekend’s series against Alabama, the now-sophomore is 7-2 with an ERA of 1.31 and a WHIP of .73 after only giving up 37 hits and 18 walks in 75.2 innings.

Hancock missed two starts with a sore right lat, but returned last Saturday against Auburn.

Junior Tony Locey has been pretty good himself.

Last year, Locey pitched mostly out of the bullpen and didn’t make a single SEC start. This year, the former Houston County star is 9-1, with an ERA of 2.63, a WHIP of 1.05 with 82 strikeouts in 75.1 innings. Walks (39) have been an issue, but over his last two starts, the big right-hander had issues just one in each game.

Including junior Tim Elliott (6-3, 2.93) and freshman Cole Wilcox (2-1, 4.12) gives the Bulldogs even more starting depth, and they hope to have sophomore lefty C.J. Smith (3-3, 4.30) back soon after dealing with lower-back issues.

Combine that with what’s been a solid bullpen led by Zac Kristofak (4-0, 3.95, six saves), Aaron Schunk (1-2, 2.53, 11 saves), Justin Glover (1-0, 3.32), Ryan Webb (0-0, 1.96), and Logan Moody (1-0, 3.22). Georgia’s team ERA of 3.21 ranks second in the SEC, and should give the team a postseason edge when pitching depth isn’t always equal.

As a team, Georgia’s ERA is 3.21, the program’s second-lowest, according to records going back to 1958, when the Bulldogs posted a 2.97.

Defensively, the Bulldogs have been equally outstanding.

Last year, Georgia set a school record with a fielding percentage of .982. This year, the Bulldogs sit at .980.

Shortstop Cam Shepherd, second baseman LJ Talley, Schunk at third, and first baseman Patrick Sullivan give the Bulldogs what many say is the finest defensive infield in the SEC, with freshman left fielder Randon Jernigan having already made a number of memorable catches, including one that was included on ESPN’s Top 10 Best Plays list.

Opposing base stealers run at their own risk with Mason Meadows behind the plate. Meadows has thrown out 11 runners attempting to steal, and only has four passed balls all season.

Whether or not Georgia will be able to score enough runs continues to be the prevailing question.

The Bulldogs currently rank eighth in the SEC in runs scored (333), ninth in batting average (.267), and fifth in home runs (57), the latter of which may actually come as a bit of a surprise.

Despite the loss of Keegan McGovern, Michael Curry, and Adam Sasser, Georgia’s 57 homers are actually just seven shy of the 64 garnered by the team last year, and is the second-most in 11 seasons since the Bulldogs hit a school-record 109 back in 2009.

Individually, Talley (.335-8-38), Schunk (339-9-37), King (.307-7-40), and John Cable (.287-6-38) have been the team’s most consistent hitters, with Tucker Maxwell—currently nursing a sore hamstring—leading the way in home runs (10) with 31 RBI and a team-leading 19 stolen bases in 22 attempts.

The team has also been encouraged by Shepherd showing signs of getting his bat going as four of his five home runs have come in Georgia’s last eight games.

Getting Maxwell back and finding enough offense in the bottom third of the lineup will certainly be areas to watch, although, if the Bulldogs can scratch out four or five runs per game, there’s no doubt Stricklin will take his chances with the pitching he’s received for most of the year.

…Georgia’s record of 39-14 is its best record at this point in a season since the 1990 National Champions went 41-12 after 53 games.

…The Bulldogs are aiming to become only the third team in school history to win 40 games during the regular season, joining the 1990 National Championship squad and the 2001 team that advanced to the College World Series.

…Georgia can set a school record for conference victories should it sweep Alabama. Currently, the 18 conference wins ranks as a tie for fourth-best in school history. The school-record is 20, set by the 2001 and 2008 SEC Champions.