Friday: 2 p.m.

Saturday:DH Noon

Sunday: Noon

TV/RADIO: ESPN3 (Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston)

Senior third baseman Garrett Blaylock hopes a change in approach will result in bigger numbers at the plate.

Last year, Blaylock, by his own admission, would get himself into trouble by taking too many pitches. He often put himself at the mercy of opposing pitchers, who struck him out a team-high 19 times in just 61 at-bats.

That proved to be a huge reason Blaylock batted a mere .180, despite leading the Bulldogs in home runs with four.

To reverse the trend, the Ashville, N.C. native began working extra with head coach Scott Stricklin and hitting coach Scott Daeley, who suggested Blaylock start changing his thought process at the plate.

“That was one thing in my game I kind of identified last year. I was taking too many pitches,” Blaylock said. “We were having conversations about swinging early in counts and hunting pitches that I could do damage with, more than if it wasn’t really what I was looking for.”

Fingers are certainly crossed.

At 6-foot-3 and 206 pounds, the third baseman may be Georgia’s biggest home run threat, so if swinging at better pitches earlier in counts will help his numbers, he'll take a shot.

“That’s what I worked on and worked on a lot over break, and what I’ve been trying to implement in preseason scrimmages and stuff,” Blaylock said. “I feel like it’s been working well. I've been hitting early, hitting the ball hard. That's really all you can do and control. The hits will come, and the sums will, too. But as far as hitting early in the count, that's what I've been doing, and I feel like it’s been working pretty well.”

Blaylock has apparently been swinging well enough; Stricklin told UGASports he's being inserted into the all-important third spot in the lineup.

“He’s been swinging the bat really well—a lot of barrels for him lately,” Stricklin said. “He’s hit some home runs in intra-squad; he hit one yesterday. He's been very good. We've put him in the third hole, and he's earned it with the way he's played the last two weeks. He's swung the bat well and is playing good defense. He’s a fourth-year guy—we need this guy to keep getting better.”

Blaylock has no intention of letting his head coach down.

“I have all the confidence in the world in my game and what I can do. I’m really looking forward to it,” Blaylock said. “I’ve always wanted to be that older leader on a team, and I feel I’ll be able to step into that role a little better this year than I was last year, when it’s a little difficult to come in as a transfer. But I’m really looking forward to it and seeing what we can do as a team.”

Weekend rotation info and more

Fifth-year senior Riley King will start the year hitting cleanup for the Bulldogs.

At 6-foot, 189 pounds, the Lawrenceville native may not look like your prototypical No. 4 hitter. But according to Stricklin, he's been the team’s most consistent hitter of the preseason, thus earning the spot.

“He’s the most consistent guy,” Stricklin said. “He barrels it up. He might not hit 15 home runs, but he hit eight two years ago. So he can easily be a 10-home run guy.”

According to Stricklin, there are a number of others who could join King in double digits, before the year is through.

“I think we’ve got six or seven of those guys in the lineup, when you look at Blaylock, Cole Tate, Connor Tate, Corey Collins, Parks Harber, Fernando Gonzalez—all those guys can hit for power,” Stricklin said. “We might not have someone who hits 20, but we’ve got a bunch of guys who could hit 8-1,0 and that’s kind of what we’ve been the last few years. But Riley King is going to hit in that four-hole.”

With Evansville throwing a pair of righties and lefties, Stricklin said he'll use the opportunity to platoon at first and second base.

Against the righties, Stricklin said he'll go with freshman Parks Harber at first base and Buddy Floyd at second.

When lefties are on the mound, veteran Chaney Rogers will start at first, with Josh McAllister getting the call at second.

Georgia’s primary outfielder will be King in left, Ben Anderson in center, and Connor Tate in right, with junior Randon Jernigan getting some opportunities.

Cole Tate takes over at shortstop, with freshman Fernando Gonzalez getting the start Friday at catcher and sophomore Shane Marshall as the No. 2.

Freshman Corey Collins will be the primary designed hitter.

With 15 true freshmen making up Georgia’s 2021 roster, it's safe to say first-year players will have a huge say in whatever success the Bulldogs have this spring.

This not only includes a trio of pitchers in Luke Wagner, Jaden Woods, and Charlie Goldstein who make their debuts in the starting rotation, but the afore-mentioned Gonzalez, Harber, and Collins, who are expected to play huge roles as part of the everyday lineup.

Which raises the following question: Could this year’s freshman class ultimately rival that of 2017, that included the likes of Aaron Schunk, Cam Shepherd, Tucker Bradley, and Tony Locey?

Stricklin was asked that during an afternoon Zoom session with reporters.

“There’s really a lot of talented freshmen; We really like Corey Collins and Fernando Gonzalez, Parks Harber—those three position guys are going to play a lot. And in the future, Garrett Spikes, D.A. Allen, Tripp Moore, and Caleb Ketchup; those guys are really talented players who just happen to have some guys in front of them,” Stricklin said. “We’ve got a lot of depth in the arms, too. I’m not going to anoint them for being as good as the 2017 class yet, but they have a chance to be pretty special.”

It was almost two years ago when catcher Mason Meadows suffered an almost indescribable injury when he batted a ball directly off his face, resulting in what was described as an orbital blowout.

Although Meadows has since returned, Stricklin revealed that the Bulldogs’ team captain is unfortunately still feeling the effects.

“Mason is guy nobody respects more than our coaches and players. Mason is still trying to get back to his normal self. The injury from two years ago is a tough one. He’s battled, he’s fought, and he’s been a great teammate,” Stricklin said. “He’ll be there for us. It's tough when you have a kid who's meant so much for our program. But he's handling it well. We've had a conversation. He's a grownup, he's handling it well, and he’s a great teammate.”

Freshman Fernando Gonzalez has been tabbed the No. 1 catcher with sophomore Shane Marshall the No. 2.

“He’s going to be there. He’ll be the first guy giving high-fives, putting his arm around people and talking to them; that’s the kind of teammate he is. You haven’t heard the last of Mason Meadows, that’s for sure,” Stricklin said. “But Fernando and Shane Marshall have played well, as has Corey Collins, with his bat; we’ve got a lot of options.”