For junior third baseman/closer Aaron Schunk, the pain of losing to Duke in the finals of last year’s Athens Regional has yet to subside.

“Definitely,” Schunk said. “It felt like we put ourselves in a good position for that regional, I felt like we had a chance to make a good run. And the way it went down really left a bad taste in my mouth. It made me want to get back to that spot and get the team back moving forward.”

That same sentiment has been expressed by the entire Georgia team.

Starting Friday, the journey resumes when the Bulldogs begin their 2019 schedule against Dayton. It's a season for which much is being expected.

SEC coaches tabbed Georgia third in the brutal SEC East, with the major college baseball sites picking the Bulldogs to finish anywhere from 9th to 15th in their respective preseason rankings.

So, what can fans really expect from the team that went 39-21 in 2018?

Starting today, UGASports will delve into to this year’s squad with the first of a three-part series, beginning with the infield.

On Thursday, we will take a look at the outfield, followed on Friday by the pitchers:

Last year, the Bulldogs set a school record with a .979 fielding percentage. They return three of the top four defenders in Schunk at third base, Cam Shepherd at shortstop, catcher Mason Meadows, and second baseman L.J. Talley.

Schunk is coming off a season that saw him bat .299 with three home runs and 38 RBI, with Shepherd coming off a down year average-wise (.244), but posting respectable stats with five home runs and 37 RBI. Talley hit .276 with six homers and 30 RBI, but was the team’s hottest hitter going down the stretch and into postseason.

Patrick Sullivan, who takes over at first base for the departed Adam Sasser, is anything but a defensive slouch. Although the redshirt junior was limited to just 46 at bats hitting just .196, in the field he was perfect in 160 total chances.

Meadows earned Freshman All-American honors after making just one error in 424 total chances.

Keep an eye on freshman Shane Marshall, who is expected to spell Meadows from time to time and is projected by head coach Scott Stricklin as a future big leaguer. Junior Austin Biggar and graduate transfer John Cable (New Orleans) will also get their shots.

*First baseman: Patrick Sullivan: Sullivan takes over for Adam Sasser. A graduate of Marist, Sullivan brings a reputation for being a slick-fielding defender with his zero errors last spring, although he’s yet to hit with the needed consistency. In 103 career at-bats, Sullivan is batting .204, although his freshman season saw him bat a respectable .260 in 26 at-bats during SEC play.

*Second baseman LJ Talley: A three-year starter, the senior from Folkston has opened in 136 career games with a career average of .254 with nine home runs and 67 RBI. He’s coming off his best season, one that saw him hit .276 with six homers and 30 RBI. Talley was also Georgia’s best post-season hitter, batting .444 in the SEC Tournament (4 for 9 with a home run and three RBI) and .357 in the Athens Regional (5 for 14 with two doubles, a triple and three RBI).

*Shortstop Cam Shepherd: Another three-year starter who has opened in all 117 games he has played as a Bulldog. Shepherd’s average dipped to .244 from the .307 he posted as a freshman, although his 37 RBI and 42 runs scored easily bested his freshman totals (28 and 42). Defensively, Shepherd set the single-season school record for fielding percentage by a shortstop at .980 with only five errors in 246 chances, including error-free ball over Georgia’s final 23 games.

*Third baseman Aaron Schunk: A Preseason third-team All-American by Baseball America, Schunk is one of the top two-way players in the country. Like Shephard, Schunk has started ever game he’s ever played as a Bulldog (97) and is coming off a season that saw him establish career highs in hits (72), RBI (38), and doubles (12). Schunk also hit straight in 22 consecutive games – the third-longest streak in Georgia history – and struck out only 28 times in 241 at-bats. Schunk will also once against serve as the team’s closer after securing eight saves last spring. Last year’s efforts also resulted in Schunk being named one of three finalists for the John Olerud Award for the nation’s top two-way player by the College Baseball Foundation.

*Catcher Mason Meadows: Stricklin considers the tough-minded Meadows (6-foot-1, 232 pounds) as the backbone of the team. Not only did Meadows excel behind the dish with just one error in his 424 chances, but he excelled at it, batting .289 (.308 in SEC play) with three home runs and 25 RBI.

Catcher Austin Biggar: The junior and former Parkview standout played in 23 games with 16 starts at catcher, batting .182 with seven RBI. Another great defender, Biggar only made one error in 151 total chances, and can be expected to receive a handful of starts for the Bulldogs.

Catcher/Infielder John Cable: Cable comes to Georgia as a graduate transfer from New Orleans, although he did not play in 2018 due to an injury, However, in 2017, Cable started all 57 games for New Orleans, batting .349 with three homers and 33 RBI. Prior to playing at New Orleans, Cable earned junior college All-American honors at Darton State College in Albany where he was a career .373 hitter with 12 home runs. Along with his duties at catcher, Cable could also see time at first base and DH for the Bulldogs.

Catcher Shane Marshall: One of the team’s most highly-regarded freshmen who will catch as well as see time at DH. A graduate of Gulf Coast High in Naples, Fla., Marshall batted .409 with three home runs and 22 RBI as a senior. At 6-4 and 210 pounds, Marshall is one to watch as he begins his collegiate career. His best baseball is definitely ahead.

First baseman Chaney Rogers: Rogers also plays outfield and pitchers for the Bulldogs, but for our purposes, we’ll list the former Gordon Lee standout as a first baseman. Rogers missed most of the year recovering from elbow surgery after appearing in 10 games early on with a .375 average in just eight at-bats.

Infielder Cole Tate: The sophomore saw limited time as a true freshman with just 16 at-bats in 16 games (.188-0-3).

Infielder Connor Tate: The twin brother of Cole Tate, Connor Tate redshirted as a true freshman after graduating from Oconee County High School where he batted .391 with eight home runs and 21 RBI his senior year. Stricklin said Wednesday that Tate will DH in one of the games this weekend.

* Projected Starter

● After setting the school-record for fielding percentage (.979), there’s every reason to expect Georgia’s infield to be just as handy with the gloves as they were a season ago. That's great news for a Bulldog squad which will also rely on what looks to be a solid and deep pitching staff.

● Georgia has one of the more experienced infields in the SEC. Between Shepherd, Schunk, Talley and Meadows, the Bulldogs boast players who have started a combined 313 SEC games.

● Can Patrick Sullivan hit enough to stay in the starting lineup? His glove is one of the best – if not the best – on the team. But he’ll need to show more offensive production. Stricklin says he can.

● Will Cam Shepherd’s average get back to being a .300 hitter like he was his freshman year? Shepherd’s .244 average in 2018 was not indicative of how good a hitter the junior really is, so there’s every reason to believe he’ll bump back up to the .300 range and become one of the team’s better offensive performers.