Things weren't looking great for the 25th-ranked Virginia Tech baseball team when they fell behind 6-1 to No. 9 Miami after 5 1/2 innings. However, the Hammerin' Hokies fought their way back by scoring eight of the game's final nine runs to defeat the Hurricanes 9-7 at English Field Friday night.

With the win, Virginia Tech improved to 22-10 on the season, 7-6 in the ACC. Miami fell to 22-8 on the season, 10-3 in the ACC.

Photo courtesy of hokiesports.com

The Hokies are back in the top 25 for the first time since 1992, coming in at #25 according to Baseball America. That ranking will obviously go one of two directions this weekend. With a series win, Tech could vault into the top 20 of multiple polls, not just Baseball America's. A series loss would obviously drop the Hokies out of the rankings. Here's a preview of this weekend's crucial ACC series:

Series Schedule (All games played at English Field- FREE ADMISSION)
Friday: 5:30 p.m.
Saturday: 1 p.m. (available on Regional Sports Network)
Sunday: 12 p.m.

Images Courtesy of HokieSports.com

Well it's that time again. The trees are budding, the weather is getting warmer, and spring football is beginning all across the country. For our Virginia Tech Hokies, the Spring session begins tomorrow (March 31) and concludes April 24th with the annual Maroon and White Spring Game at Lane Stadium. Throughout this spring, FFODC will be taking a look forward to the 2010 season and where the Hokies stand at each position. The first group up for evaluation is the Wide Receivers. Let's take a look!

Overview: Virginia Tech had one of its most successful passing seasons in recent history last season and returns every key contributor from the receiving corps. The Hokie receivers hauled in twelve touchdown passes (up from two in 2008) as well as 105 catches for 2,052 yards. That amounts to over 19.5 yards per catch, which is a very impressive statistic. If the Hokies can see improvement in pass protection, these numbers should improve significantly.

All of this is extremely interesting considering the fact that Tech was completely decimated at the wide receiver position following the graduation of the (fall) 2007 senior class that boasted the talents of Eddie Royal, Josh Morgan, Josh Hyman and Justin Harper. The 2008 Hokies struggled mightily in the passing game, but young players like Boykin, Coale and Roberts gained valueable experience that they parlayed into a strong 2009 campaign. The Virginia Tech faithful can now brag about another impressive class of wideouts, and a group that has the potential to be one of the best in school history.

79

72

Rhode Island ended the game on a 31-12 run, and came from 12 points behind in the second half to upend the Hokies 79-72. The loss marked the end of the season for Tech, as they finished 25-9 on the season.

The two teams kept it close in the first half, as neither team could pull away from the other. URI went up 17-11 seven minutes into the game, but the Hokies responded with an 11-point run to take a 22-17 lead. Tech seemed to have a four point advantage heading into halftime, but Jeff Allen threw an inbounds pass out of bounds, and Rhode Island capitalized with a bucket as time expired. Nevertheless, Tech had a 42-40 lead at the break.

Virginia Tech Hokies (25-8, 10-6 ACC)

Rhode Island Rams (25-9, 9-7 Atlantic 10)

Wednesday, March 23 @ 7 p.m.

TV: ESPN2

Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, VA

The Opponent: Rhode Island returns to Cassell Coliseum for the first time since 2001 with a trip to New York City on the line. The Rams and Hokies squared off seven times while both squads were a member of the Atlantic 10, with URI coming out on top five times. The five wins included a win over then-#15 Virginia Tech in the Atlantic 10 final in 1996.

The Rams come into tonight's game after knocking off Nevada 85-83 Monday night. URI can shoot the ball, and they like to press full court the entire game. This will be an interesting strategic advantage, since the Hokies only have 46 hours to prepare for the Rams.

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63

Dorenzo Hudson hit a jumper with 11 seconds remaining and Jeff Allen came up with a critical block on UConn's final possession to seal the Hokies' come from behind 65-63 victory. The win gave Tech their 25th victory on the season, which tied a school record.

The first 15 minutes of this game looked like the Baylor game from last year's NIT. Unlike last year, the Hokies up with the support of the Cassell Coliseum faithful. After trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half, Tech ended on a 14-7 run to cut the Connecticut deficit to five.

Virginia Tech Hokies (24-8, 10-6 ACC)

Connecticut Huskies (18-15, 7-11 Big East)

Monday, March 22 @ 7 p.m.

TV: ESPN

Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, Virginia

The Opponent: Perennial powerhouse Connecticut comes into Cassell Coliseum for a second round NIT match-up with the Hokies. UConn struggled throughout the year, and ended up losing its last four games of the season, including a 22-point blowout at the hands of St. John's in the Big East Tournament.

The Huskies come into tonight's game after escaping Northeastern of the CAA 59-57 last Tuesday. UConn looked like a team that was mailing it in for the majority of the game before turning it on late to move on in the NIT.

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The Hokies took the first step in proving the NCAA selection committee wrong Wednesday by punishing the Quinnipiac Bobcats 81-61 in Cassell Coliseum. With the win, Tech advanced to the second round of the NIT, where they will face the Connecticut Huskies.

The game was never really in question after Quinnipiac made the first basket. The Hokies went on a 10-1 run to open up a 10-3 advantage and never looked back. Tech found themselves up 12 at halftime and expanded that lead to as many as 23 in the second half before putting the backups in.