Georgia’s appearance in this week’s North Carolina Regional is an opportunity for the Bulldogs to hit the reset button.

It’s been a frustrating month for Scott Stricklin’s squad.

Despite making their third trip to the NCAA Tournament in five years, injuries and four straight SEC series losses put somewhat of a damper on the end of the season for the Bulldogs, who take on Virginia Commonwealth Friday night at Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium.

However, all that will be forgotten if Georgia can find a way to win the double-elimination regional and advance to next week’s Super Regional.

But for that to happen, several areas need to improve, both at the plate and on the mound.

“For us, it’s just getting our approach back to hitting it up the middle. We’ve struck out too much lately, and certainly on the mound, free passes will kill you,” Stricklin said. “When you walk people and you hit people, that’s going to put you in a tough position. When you get into the postseason, all that stuff gets magnified.”

Stricklin is certainly right about that.

If the Bulldogs want to get past VCU, the host Tar Heels, and Hofstra, Georgia will need to clean up some of the issues that have recently plagued the team.

Today, let’s take a look at five keys that must occur for the Bulldogs to make that happen.

… Jonathan Cannon (9-3, 3.62) and Liam Sullivan (3-3, 5.18) must go deep into their games: Cannon and Sullivan are the only two true starters Stricklin has left, thanks to injuries, so it’s going to be imperative that the two give the Bulldogs some length and throw at least five to six innings.

Georgia’s bullpen issues have been well-documented.

Jack Gowen (2-0, 2.29 ERA, 10 saves), Jaden Woods (1-1, 4.73), and Chandler Marsh (4-1, 3.86) have been the most consistent arms out of the bullpen. Otherwise, it’s been a crapshoot.

… Take smarter at-bats.

Georgia leads the league in strikeouts. In 57 games, the Bulldogs have struck out 527 times, 24 more times than the second-worst team (Kentucky).

Stricklin doesn’t necessarily want to negate his team’s aggressiveness, but he doesn’t want them to give away easy outs, either.

Bulldog lefty hitters have also struggled, laying off breaking pitches on the outer part of the plate. That’s an area that also must improve.

… On the flipside, Georgia’s pitchers MUST do a better job cutting down the walks.

Not only do the Bulldogs lead the league in strikeouts, but Georgia pitchers have also issued the most walks (276) and hit the third-most batters (71) behind Florida (74) and Kentucky (76), including 13 over the last two games.

… Other pitchers are going to have to step up.

Stricklin is certainly anticipating Georgia playing more than two games, and assuming that happens, a lot will be placed on the shoulders of whoever the Bulldogs send out as the third starter.

The guess here is that person would be sophomore left-hander Luke Wagner (5-2, 6.10). Wagner’s stats will not impress you, but he does have experience and he pitched in some big games. Walks (26 in 38.1 innings) have been an issue, but when he is on, he’s capable of giving the Bulldogs a chance.

… Bulldogs MUST win the first game against VCU.

While the regionals is a double-elimination tournament, Georgia’s lack of pitching depth necessitates the Bulldogs stay out of any loser’s bracket scenario that would force Stricklin to pull any deeper from his staff than need be.

It’s already going to be a challenge with so many question marks surrounding the rotation after Sullivan and Cannon.

Georgia must keep it as easy on itself as possible.

SCHEDULE

2021 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional Schedule

Friday, June 3

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, June 4

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, June 5

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, June 6

Game 7, if necessary, 6 p.m.