To say Hokie baseball has been down the last five seasons is an understatement. Since joining the ACC in 2005, Tech has compiled a ghastly 36-108 record. Even worse was the fact that 1/3 of those wins (12) came last year. However, things seem to be on the right track for the Hokies to make their first ACC tournament appearance since 2005, and some preseason magazines have picked Tech to sneak into the NCAA Tournament regional round.

Tech now has the stability of knowing that head coach Pete Hughes will be here for five more years, thanks to a contract extension signed last summer. Along with a stable coaching staff and two preseason All-Americans, this is the best team that the Hokies have fielded in quite awhile. The schedule, however, could be considered one of the toughest in the nation.

Part two of the Hokie Baseball preview focuses on the team's pitchers. For those that aren't too accustomed to collegiate baseball, here's a quick schedule synopsis. Usually a team has a Friday, Saturday and Sunday starter (aka a #1, #2, #3 pitcher in MLB) to go along with mid-week starters. Conference games are always played on weekends, which cause the best pitchers to pitch on the weekend,while non-conference games give a team time to focus on developing future Friday, Saturday and Sunday pitchers. Here's a look at Hokies probable rotation and bullpen:

It's only the middle of February, but the Hokie baseball team is ready to take the field for the first time this weekend in the Caravelle Resort Tournament in Conway, South Carolina. Tech will face off against Kentucky Friday, #12 Coastal Carolina Saturday and West Virginia Sunday. With first pitch scheduled for noon Friday, here's a look at how the position players will look for Tech this year. I'll have a preview of the pitchers and an overall season outlook later on.

Next to each player is their class, batting/throwing hand, and hometown.
Italics indicate projected starter.

83

87

Let's face it, the Hokies were outplayed and looked like a team with no answers for the first 28 minutes of Tuesday's game. Then, freshman Cadarian Raines blocked a David Weaver layup, and Dorenzo Hudson took the ball the length of the court for a thunderous dunk over two Deacon defenders to bring the Cassell Coliseum crowd to their feet.

The dunk sparked a 21-8 run that gave the Hokies a 71-69 lead, a lead they held onto for the final 6:30 en route to an 87-83 come-from-behind win over #23 Wake Forest. The win put Tech in sole possession of second place in the ACC at 21-4 overall and 8-3 in conference, while Wake fell to 18-6 overall and 8-4 in the ACC. In addition, the Hokies remained undefeated at home in 14 attempts, and accomplished their first five-game conference win streak since joining the league.

Virginia Tech Hokies (20-4, 7-3 ACC)

#23 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (18-5, 8-3 ACC)

Tuesday, February 16, 7 p.m.

TV: ESPN2

Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, Virginia

The Opponent: Wake Forest waltzes into Blacksburg on a four-game winning streak, featuring an 11-point beatdown of then-#20 Georgia Tech and a three-point overtime win at Virginia. The Deacs are a much better team at home than they are on the road, as evidenced by their three ACC losses all taking place away from Winston-Salem.

The Hokies have controlled the Demon Deacons since Tech joined the ACC, winning five of seven matchups. Last year, Tech knocked off the #1 Deacs in Winston-Salem 78-71. Jeff Teague and James Johnson combined for 41 points in the loss, but both have since graduated.

61

55

It was one of the ugliest games of the year, but the Hokies somehow found a way to win another close game, 61-55 over rival Virginia. The Hokies (20-4, 7-3 ACC) used a late 8-0 run in the final two minutes to propel themselves ahead and never look back. Virginia fell to 14-8 overall and 5-4 within the ACC.

The first half, for the most part, was controlled by the Hokies, despite poor play on both sides. Tech led for most of the half, including a six-point advantage 10 minutes into the game. However, neither team shot well until the Cavs went on a quick 7-2 run in the final 1:26 to take a 25-21 advantage into the locker rooms. UVA only shot 30% in the first half, and the Hokies weren't much better as they only shot 32.1% from the field.

72

52

The Hokies went into Raleigh knowing how NC State had given them fits over their previous eight meetings. Instead of falling into patterns of teams past, the Hokies dominated from start to finish, never trailing in a 72-52 beatdown of the Wolfpack. The 20-point margin of victory was the largest margin of victory for a conference road game since Tech joined the ACC.

The Hokies (19-4, 6-3 ACC) got off to the fast start they needed, hitting their first 10 shots en route to a 26-7 lead nine minutes into the game. NC State (14-11, 2-8 ACC) fought back after the slow start, cutting the lead down to 10 with a little over four minutes remaining in the first half. Tech bumped the lead back to 11 as the first half clock ran out, and the Hokies took a 34-23 into the locker room in front of a lethargic RBC Center crowd.

Image Courtesy of Planet Blacksburg

According to a Washington Post article released yesterday, former Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon has been having a hard time getting away from his critics since graduation. The article highlights Glennon's journey since leaving Virginia Tech, and some trouble he's run into along the way. After being cut by the Vikings in July, Glennon was hired at a mortgage company in Fairfax, VA. Apparently Glennon reached out to his old Westfields community (where he grew up and led the high school to a state championship with uber-receiver Eddie Royal) by sending out an e-mail with his contact information. Unfortunately Glennon included his cell phone number and has been receiving some malicious e-mails and phone calls ever since.