Georgia vs. Quinnipiac

WHERE: Brooks Field, University of North Carolina-Wilmington

WHEN: Friday, noon

STARTING PITCHERS: Friday: Georgia – Kolten Smith (0-0, 0.00) vs TBA (Quinnipiac)

Saturday: Georgia - Charlie Goldstein/Leighton Finley vs TBA (Quinnipiac), noon

Georgia – Brian Zeldin vs TBA (UNC-Wilmington, 4 p.m.

Sunday: Georgia – Zach Brown vs TBA (UNC-Wilmington, 3 p.m.

RADIO: 960-AM (Jeff Dantzler, David Johnston)

Georgia opens its 2025 baseball season Friday in Wilmington, North Carolina against Quinnipiac, and catcher Henry Hunter said the Bulldogs could not be more ready to go.

The first pitch is set for noon at Brooks Field, followed by two games Saturday against Quinnipiac and UNC, followed by a Sunday finale against the host Seahawks.

The games are the first of what’s going to be a busy early slate for Georgia, which plays 10 games over the next 12 days.

“We're all tired of playing against each other. It's been super competitive,” Hunter said. “We're ready to play on the same team and go in the same direction.”

The Bulldogs have made it clear – both privately and publicly – that Omaha is the destination they seek.

If you believe the experts, the Bulldogs – who fell one game short in Wes Johnson’s first year – will have a shot.

Georgia is picked anywhere from fourth to 11th in the major preseason polls. In their annual preseason poll, SEC coaches picked the Bulldogs to finish 5th, behind Texas A&M, LSU, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

Despite the loss of a generational player like Golden Spikes Award winner Charlie Condon, the Bulldogs have taken what Johnson likes to refer to as the “Moneyball approach” to give a Georgia what on paper looks to be a much deeper roster than last year.

With 20 transfers and five true freshmen, Georgia appears to have fortified a lineup that returns proven SEC performers like the versatile Tre Phelps, third baseman Slate Alford, shortstop Kolby Branch, and catcher Henry Hunter.

With key additions that include outfielder Nolan McCarthy, second baseman Ryan Black, outfielder Devin Obee, outfielder/second baseman Robbie Burnett, first baseman Ryland Zaborowski, catcher Daniel Jackson, infielder/outfielder Charlie Jones and infielder Christian Adams, Johnson’s biggest problem might be finding enough at-bats.

“We try to make (relationships) a point of emphasis, and obviously, bringing in guys that are winners, like Nolan, Robbie, and Alton (Davis II), it makes it easy to gel with those guys,” Hunter said. “You respect how they go about their business and that makes it easier to gel with those guys. I think we're just, we're looking forward to competing with each other.”

Georgia’s pitching staff has received a significant infusion of talented and power arms.

After entering the 2023 season with just two pitchers (Leighton Finley and Charlie Goldstein) to throw a minimum of five innings, this year that number has grown to seven (Finley, Goldstein, Kolten Smith, Brian Zeldin, Brian Curley, JT Quinn, and Eric Hammond).

Per Johnson, 17-18 pitchers topped out at 95 mph or higher during fall scrimmages.

“I think the thing that separates us from a lot of people is we're going to have a lot of all hands on deck this year. It’s not going to be one guy and that's going to be the lineup and, on the mound,” Hunter said. “It’s going to be a collection of different guys that you see, and guys that you get used to, and they're going to be used in different roles. We just need everyone to accept what their role is, and be able to control what they can control. When they get their opportunity, just go out there and give it their best.”