Georgia vs Texas A&M

WHEN: Wednesday, 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Hoover, Ala.

RECORDS: Georgia 42-14; Texas A&M 38-19-1

STARTING PITCHERS: Georgia – Tim Elliott (6-3, 2.97) vs.TBA.

TV/RADIO: SEC Network: Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston)

You’ve read a lot about Georgia’s starting pitching, but unless you’ve been to Foley Field, then you’re probably not as aware of the other big strength for the 7th-ranked Bulldogs: their defense.

The numbers have been nothing short of amazing as Georgia ranks second in the SEC in fielding, boasting a tidy percentage of .981, second in the conference behind Vanderbilt at .982.

Individually, the numbers have been even more amazing, especially on the infield where first baseman Patrick Sullivan (one error), second baseman LJ Talley (three errors), shortstop Cam Shepherd (two errors) and third baseman Aaron Schunk (10 errors) have vacuumed up just about every baseball that’s come their way.

The numbers are even better in SEC play.

“In the league, our starting infield has four errors; Cam Shepherd made no errors,” head coach Scott Stricklin said. “I would venture to stay a shortstop who started all 30 games in the SEC has never gone clean without making an error. That’s unbelievable. I knew how good he was, but it didn’t really hit me until somebody put that out there. That’s how good he has been. Our infield defense has been amazing.”

It’s not by accident, either.

“We’ve definitely put in a lot of work. We take a lot of pride in our defense,” Shepherd said. “This team is built on pitching and defense, it’s gotten us where we are today, so we take a lot of pride in it.”

It’s not just the infield that’s garnered the reputation for being one of the league’s best defensive units.

Catcher Mason Meadows has committed just one error all season, which is also the number allowed by center fielder Tucker Maxwell and left fielder Randon Jernigan. Outfielder/infielder Riley King has committed just two.

“It’s great for sure. It makes it a lot harder on yourself when you walk people, because you’ve got such a great defense behind you,” pitcher Tony Locey said. “Just throw it and make them hit it.”

For Stricklin, it’s a comforting thought knowing more often than not that plays are going to be made.

“Coach (Mitch) Gaspar and I were talking, we can remember every single one of them, because they were so few,” Stricklin said. “We remember Sully’s (Sullivan) one against Missouri, we can remember (Talley’s) against Kentucky. It’s just amazing there are so few of them that you can remember them specifically. That’s just how good our defense has been. It’s been elite—.980 is elite, and I think we’re fielding .981 overall and .987 in the conference. That’s an elite defense.”

Stricklin credits the fact his team consists mainly of experienced players as one of the bigger reasons his team is good with the glove.

“It’s everything. You’ve got older guys. Patrick Sullivan’s a four-year guy, LJ Talley is a four-year guy. You’ve got Shepherd and Schunk here for three years, and they’ve played a lot of games. The game has slowed down for them,” Stricklin said. “It’s just like LJ at the plate, because it’s not that big a deal anymore. When you’re a freshman or a sophomore, you’re panicky, you’re rushed, it’s very rare when you see a freshman very calm, and that’s one thing that stands out about Cam Shepherd since he’s been here, he’s been really, really calm about things, and that’s why he’s such a good defender.”

To say Georgia has had a dry spell at the SEC Tournament would be an understatement.

The Bulldogs - who play Texas A&M Wednesday at 10:30 ET - have lost seven straight, four of which have occurred in three previous trips under Stricklin, including last year when Georgia dropped both of its games to Texas A&M (7-0) and Ole Miss (5-4, 10 innings).

You actually have to go all the way back to 2011 for the occasion when Georgia last won a game at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium

“We definitely want to go out there and try to win a few more balls games,” Shepherd said. “But if we play the game we’re supposed to, we’ll take care of business.”

At 42-14 and a second-best conference record of 21-9, Georgia already knows it will host a regional and is virtually assured of being a Top 8 National Seed. While winning next week’s regional is the first step to advancing to the College World Series, players disagree with the notion that the SEC Tourney won’t be a big deal.

“It’s a big deal, because you want to keep that momentum; that’s the tournament that leads into the regionals,” John Cable said. “In the past, we haven’t played well, but we’re on a hot streak right now. It’s a big tournament for us. It would be nice to play well, win that, get it on the way and have it be a part of this history.”

Schunk agreed.

“We want to win every game we play. We’ve had a chip on our shoulder all year, and we’re going to take that same mentality into it,” he said. “We’re not going to change any of it, just going to try to play some good baseball and do what we can.”

Georgia’s rotation for the SEC Tournament is set.

Junior Tim Elliott will start Wednesday’s contest, followed by freshman Cole Wilcox on Thursday.

Should Georgia continue to win, Locey would pitch on Friday, with Hancock getting the call on Friday.

This would allow each pitcher to receive his usual allotted period of rest, not only for the SECs, but next week’s regional.

For Elliott, the only real change will be the fact that the first pitch on Wednesday morning will be at 9:30 a.m. Central Time.

He’s not anticipating the early start being an issue.

“I’ll get up, eat breakfast the same as always, but other than get to the field a little earlier than usual, I’ll do the same thing I always do,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to be too big of a deal.”