Georgia opens its season on the road on Friday. The Bulldogs will take on Quinnipiac at noon on the campus of UNC-Wilmington.

Saturday, Georgia will play a doubleheader at Brooks Field, facing Quinnipiac at noon, followed by a game against host UNCW at 4.

The Bulldogs will wrap up the weekend on Sunday with a second game at UNC-Wilmington set for 3 p.m.

Let’s take a look at both teams:

Conference: Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

2024 Record: Finished 20-30 overall, 10-14 in the MAAC

Head Coach: John Delaney (ninth season)

Scouting the Bobcats: Quinnipiac returns four position starters from last year’s team, and are led on the mound by redshirt junior Mason Ulsh, who went 3-7 with an ERA of 7.63.

The Bobcats won’t blow you away with velocity, although sophomore righty Michael Poncini has topped out at 94 mph.

Quinnipiac does have several key members of its bullpen back and welcomes righthander Josh LaJoie, who pitched previously at St. John’s and Lipscomb.

Junior lefty Matt Alduino is expected to take over as the team’s closer after going 4-1 with a 3.90 ERA last year.

Offensively, the Bobcats only batted .270 and hit just 49 home runs, but when they get on base have several threats to steal after swiping 119 bases last spring.

Outfielders CJ Willis and Gabe Wright stole 12 and 29 bases, respectively. They were only thrown out a combined four times.

Willis is also coming off a year that saw him hit .284 with eight homers and 42 RBI.

Meanwhile, sophomore Sebastian Miller hit .357 in limited action, while Kyle Garbowski is an athletic first baseman after stealing 10 bases. Shortstop Steve Irizarry (Maryland transfer) and catcher Cole Constable (Maryland transfer) are also expected to play key roles.

Conference: Coastal Athletic Association

2024 Record: 40-21 overall, 20-7 in conference play

Head Coach: Randy Hood (seventh season)

Scouting the Seahawks: In 2024, the Seahawks won their second straight Coastal Athletic Association tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Regionals (Athens) for the 12th time overall, beating Georgia Tech 9-0, before losing to Georgia (11-2) and the aforementioned Yellow Jackets (3-1).

UNCW’s conference title was a record eighth for the Seahawks, who remain the only program in the conference to compete in all 38 tournament championships. UNCW posted a record of 40-21, marking the eighth time in program history it has reached the 40-win mark.

The Seahawks also fashioned a 20-7 record in CAA play and became the only program in the league to surpass the 500-win mark at 507-317-1. Hood’s record in CAA play is 68-32.

When breaking down UNCW’s personnel, it starts with first baseman Tanner Thatch.

Already on Watch List for the Golden Spikes Awards won last year by Charlie Condon, Thatch would have been one of the most sought-after transfers had he decided to enter the portal.

Instead, he decided to stay at UNCW after batting .324 with 27 homers and 75 RBI.

Thatch is as legit a hitter as Georgia will face this year.

But Thatch isn’t the only proven player on a team that’s expected to win the Coastal Athletic Conference once again.

This is an older team, dominated by juniors and seniors, including catcher Bryan Arendt (.206-9-35) and senior shortstop Kevin Jones (.269-3-35).

Junior second baseman Aiden Evans (.291-1-22), junior outfielder Brock Willis (.268-3-31) and redshirt junior outfielder Alec DeMartino (.288-8-39) also return after enjoying previous success with the Seahawks.

On the mound there will be some new faces, although senior Zane Taylor (5-1, 3.99) has pitched a lot of innings for UNCW (206 over 44 career appearances).

Other names to look for include Division II transfer Chris Morris, along with junior right hander Trace Baker (1-0. 3.58).