North Carolina Regional

WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium, Chapel Hill., N.C.

RECORDS: Georgia 35-21; Virginia Commonwealth 49-18.

SERIES HISTORY: This is the first meeting between the two schools.

STARTING PITCHERS: Georgia – RH Jonathan Cannon (9-3, 3.62); Virginia Commonwealth – LH Tyler Davis (4-2, 3.25).

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

Much has been written and talked about in regard to what all has gone wrong for Georgia’s baseball team.

From key injuries to a sluggish end to the SEC portion of their schedule, the Bulldogs have certainly endured their share of frustrations.

Nevertheless, Friday night in Chapel Hill, Scott Stricklin’s squad (35-21) finds itself in a position only 64 teams can claim when Georgia opens play in the North Carolina Regional against Virginia Commonwealth (40-18).

First pitch at Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium is set for 7 p.m.

The winner of the North Carolina Regional will play the winner of the Oklahoma State Regional which features the host Cowboys, Arkansas, Missouri State and Grand Canyon for a trip to the College World Series.

Stricklin is banking on the experience of his team making a difference for his Bulldogs in the double-elimination regional, which also features Hofstra and host North Carolina, winners of last week’s ACC Tournament.

“When different things come at your team, you kind of rely on the maturity of your team,” Stricklin said. “We’ve got an older group, and when you’ve got an older group, they can handle things a little bit different.”

The Rams are no stranger to NCAA Tournament play.

VCU earned the Atlantic 10's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after capturing its second straight A-10 conference championship. It was the Rams' third A-10 title since joining the league in 2013, and eighth conference tournament crown overall. VCU will be making its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance.

It’s what they’ve done lately which makes VCU’s season even more impressive. The Rams have won 15 straight games, 23 of their last 26 contests, and are 37-10 since March 8. VCU won all four games at the A-10 Championship in Davidson, N.C., from May 24-28, including a 10-7 triumph over Richmond in the title game. Redshirt sophomore first baseman Tyler Locklear was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after hitting .818 with three home runs.

“Tyler Locklear (.403-19-75) is one of the best hitters in the country. That’s the guy you circle, you star and underline. They like to bunt, they like to put some pressure on your defense,” Stricklin said. “Pitching wise, they don’t have anyone who can throw it 95 mph, but they’ve got 14 different guys that throw from different arm slots. We’re going to see a lot of different looks.”

VCU’s prowess is why Stricklin and pitching coach Sean Kenny are not taking any chances and plan to start ace right-hander Jonathan Cannon.

The Bulldogs could have opted for sophomore Liam Sullivan, but the Rams are a predominantly right-handed team. Stricklin hopes that Cannon will be able to give the Bulldogs length and have his full complement of relievers for Saturday’s second game against North Carolina or Hofstra.

Senior co-captain and closer Jack Gowen believes the nine days the Bulldogs will have had off since last week’s loss to Alabama in the SEC Tournament will be benefit the entire staff.

“A lot of times during the season you don’t have time to make a short-term fix,” Gowen said. “You’re playing on Tuesday, you’re playing on the weekend, so if you’re trying to make too many fixes in a short amount of time, you’re worried about too many things, and you get away from getting people out.”

With the extra days, Gowen said he and the rest of the staff were able to make some corrections.

“Each guy had one or two things to work on and I think that we did that,” he said. “During the course of the season, your mechanics get haywire on you, myself included. But during this time, me and Coach Kenny were able to identify what I need to do different.”

The time off also allowed a couple of Georgia’s key players to hill.

Catcher Fernando Gonzalez and infielder Josh McAllister were bothered the latter part of the year with nagging injuries.

Fortunately, both are now 100 percent center.

“We’re as healthy as we can be right now,” said Stricklin.

“We’ve had some guys beat up, but we’ve been able to grind through it,” left fielder Connor Tate said. “We’re excited about the opportunity we have.”

Stricklin agreed.

“The guys were genuinely excited to see how our regional set up,” he said. “I don’t think there’s ever such a thing as a good draw. All regionals are tough, but we’re excited and ready to get on the road.”

Friday

Game 1: #1 North Carolina (38-19) vs. #4 Hofstra (30-21), 2 p.m.

Game 2: #2 Georgia (35-21) vs. #3 VCU (40-18), 7 p.m.

Saturday

Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1 p.m.

Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 7 p.m.

Sunday

Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 1 p.m.

Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 6 p.m.

Monday

Game 7, if necessary, 6 p.m.