Hokies Still Alive for ACC Baseball Tournament

It'll take a miracle, but Virginia Tech still has a chance to qualify for the 2009 ACC Baseball Tournament May 20-24 in Durham. The Hokies are currently ninth and are two games behind eighth-place BC.

Neither team plays conference games this week and have its final conference series next weekend. The Hokies host UVa and BC hosts UNC.

Jeff and Brian did some math to find that BC has the tiebreaker over the Hokies, which means Tech needs to sweep the 35-9-1 'Hoos and hope the Heels sweep the Eagles. It's probably not going to happen.

But just the fact the Hokies are in contention the final weekend of the season. For the last few years the Hokies baseball team has struggled. Since joining the ACC, the Hokies haven't won more than seven conference games in any season. However, Tech already has 10 in 2009. That's called progress.

Tech's only ACC tournament appearance came in 2005 when all 11 teams were invited to Jacksonville. Its last NCAA Tournament appearance came back in 2000. The Hokies have a long way to go to get back to baseball respectability, but at least Pete Hughes has them improving.

I've never been a fan of college baseball, but it would be nice if the team would be good enough to make the ACC tournament every now and then. Like next year, when the thing is supposed to be played at Fenway.

That would be a great trip to make, especially for a Red Sox fan like me.

Linkage

Hokies

- Could Friday's BCS hearing just be the first step toward Utah and BYU in the Pac 10? (The A-Line)
- CGB thinks congress SHOULD be investigating college football. (College Game Balls)

ACC and Opponents

- Who's filling the shoes at Maryland in 2009. (Turtle Waxing)
- How the Globe can cover BC better. (Eagle in Atlanta)
- Julio Jones had surgery on his groin April 21. (Birmingham News)
- Nate Irving has a strong supporting cast as well. (Annette)

Stuff Only I Care About

- Sid and Ovie both had hat tricks in the Caps' win Monday. (Puck Daddy)
- It looks like the lovely and talented Amalie Benjamin might not be unemployed after all. (WSJ)