Georgia’s Ike Cousins head baseball coach Scott Stricklin appeared on the Bulldogs Live radio show earlier this week and discussed the upcoming 2017 season for the Diamond Dawgs.
 
Since the baseball team got the balls, bats, and gloves out last week and started preparing for the upcoming season and their first series with the College of Charleston on Feb. 17th, the talk has been on just how young this year’s group is. Coach Stricklin talks about the youth on the 2017 squad and the impact the freshmen will have:
 
“If you came out to practice, I don’t think you could pick out the freshmen. That’s the exciting thing for us; these guys have blended right in. They don’t act like freshmen, they don’t walk around like freshmen, they don’t look or sound like freshmen. They do their jobs and are really talented…They have high baseball IQs…They’re young but we’re not going to use that as an excuse. We’ve got a good, talented group, and we’re going to go out and play.”
 
“We’ve waited three years to get this team together…It’s taken some time for them to get here…and anyone that comes out to watch us play, you’re going to see it’s different. We’ve got more depth, more athleticism. They’ve been fun to coach, we’ve challenged them, we’ve gotten after them, and they’re ready to play.”
 
 
Coach Stricklin further expounds on his freshmen infielders:
 
“Austin (Biggar, C), a High School All-American, he has raw power and will be nice to have him to help Michael (Curry) behind the plate.”
 
“Cam (Shepherd, SS) is a really talented guy…hotly recruited by a lot of different schools, and he made it clear he wanted to come to college, and we’re fortunate to get him to sign with Georgia…We’ve been able to bring him in with a bunch of guys around him. You’re going to see some great defense from our infielders.”
 
“Aaron (Schunk, 3B) came in from day one and took charge…He’s 6-3, 195 and one of those guys when he steps on the field you say, ‘look at that guy.’ He passes the eye test.”
 
“Will (Proctor, INF) is very athletic and can really move around. When you watch him field a ground ball, you say ‘whoa, who’s that?’ The hands and feet are really good…He’s been swinging the bat too.”
 
 
The Head Coach also talks about the freshmen in the outfield:
 
“Tucker (Maxwell, CF) is as good as you’ll see in center, his first step, the angles he takes to the ball. In right field, a couple guys who will also DH, Will Campbell and Tucker Bradley…Will is more of a power guy, a good defender…Tucker is fun to watch, diving all over the place. Both can really run with some pop.”
 
 
For the full Bulldogs Live Radio Show including the interview with Scott Stricklin, CLICK HERE