big day with family and friends.To pitch | Forum

SYRACUSE, N. Nick Holden Jersey .Y. -- First-year Syracuse coach Dino Babers got the signature win he was looking for.The biggest thing about this win is that any time you take over a program you trying to get everybody to buy in, youre trying to get everybody to work as one, Babers said after the Orange beat No. 17 Virginia Tech 31-17 on Saturday for their first victory over a ranked opponent since 2012.No matter how hard everybody wants to do that, theres always the naysayers, theres always the ones who say, `Maybe we should be doing it the way the old people, the old team did or the old coaches did it. Its always that way until you get that one win that solidifies you, that brings you together, that hardship that brings the family closer together. Thats what happened today. Were now family.The Orange offense rolled up 561 yards on the nations third-ranked defense, converted four of five fourth-down opportunities, and one that didnt fold when the Hokies came back to tie it.A lot of it comes down to looking at the structure of defenses, were looking at situations. Were not reckless, Babers said. We dont just go out on fourth down and say were gambling. Thats not what we do.Uncharacteristically, Syracuse scored 14 straight points after the Hokies rallied. Under similar scenarios this season, the bottom would have fallen out. Not this timeWe went back to the things that worked, Babers said. We knew they were going to be pressing, were just playing. We wanted to get into the fourth quarter where we had a chance to win the game.The key was quarterback Eric Dungey, who accounted for 417 yards and two touchdowns as Syracuse (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat No. 17 Virginia Tech (4-2, 2-1 ACC) 31-17 on Saturday for its first victory over a ranked opponent since 2012.Dungey was 28 of 53 for 311 yards and ran for a career-high 106 yards. Knocked out of the game for one play, Dungey became the Orange player to throw for 300 yards and run for 100 yards in a single game.He scored on a 1-yard sneak to give the Orange a 24-17 lead with 7:56 to go, and hit Erv Phillips on a 58-yard scoring play in the first quarter.Coach (Sean) Lewis and Coach Babers did a good job all week. They helped to put us in situations to put some points up, Dungey said.The Orange also featured a defense that played its most inspired game of the year, holding the Hokies to its lowest output of the season. Coming into Saturdays game off a 34-3 win over North Carolina, Virginia Tech had averaged 39.4 points per game, third in the ACC and 25th nationally.For the defense, all week coach has been saying, `Why not us? This week he kept drilling in us, `Why cant we be great? I felt the guys really took that to heart and we came out feeling like we had nothing to lose, said defensive lineman Dejon Wilson, who recovered a fumble by Hokies quarterback Jerod Evans.As big a win as it was for the Orange, the game was a huge disappointment to the Hokies, whose head coach blamed himself for the upset.I mean they beat us in all three phases of the game, Justin Fuente said. That falls on me.And now the Hokies have to turn around and play Miami in just five days.With this outcome, the challenges of playing in a short week, youve got to be ready, Fuente said.Syracuse was more than ready Saturday.Before the game we felt like we needed to come out with a chip on our shoulder, said running back Dontae Strickland, who connected with Brisly Estime for an 84-yard touchdown. Even though we were the underdogs, we did that from the jump and you saw what happened.The Hokies tied it at 17 with 13:53 to go in regulation on Evans 10-yard pass to Bucky Hodges and a 2-point conversion catch by Chris Cunningham, but Dungey took over after that.SITTING OUT: Syracuse starting defensive end Kendall Coleman sat out the first half as the result of a targeting penalty against Wake Forest a week ago. Coleman, a true freshman who had started every game, was penalized for targeting quarterback John Wolford in the fourth quarter of a 28-9 loss.POLL IMPLICATIONS: Virginia Tech will plummet after the upset loss, possibly out of the Top 25 .THE TAKEAWAY:Virginia Tech: The Hokies had only allowed 661 yards through the air in their first five games. Syracuse had 405. Virginia Tech had only allowed 20 points combined in its previous three games. The Hokies averaged 39.4 points entering the game.Syracuse: Three Syracuse players completed passes in the first half: Dungey, Strickland and Estime.Dungey was not sacked in the first half but was knocked out of the game for one play on a hit by free safety Mook Reynolds. Zack Mahoney replaced him. Philips had 11 receptions, Estime eight, Steven Ishmael six and Etta-Tawo five.UP NEXT:Virginia Tech: The Hokies host Miami on Thursday night.Syracuse: The Orange travel to Boston College next Saturday. Reilly Smith Jersey . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Maxime Lagace Jersey .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. http://www.officialgoldenknightsfanstore.com/...knights-jersey-c-36/ . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Boston Red Sox will be looking to gain ground on the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East when they begin a nine-game trip against one of the ALs weakest teams, the Oakland Athletics, on Friday night.Boston (74-59) begins the trip two games back of the Blue Jays (76-57) in the East.The Red Sox end the trip with three in Toronto. But before then, they get an opportunity to fatten up their record against the last-place team in the AL West (the As) and the last-place team in the National League West (the San Diego Padres).Red Sox ace David Price will begin and is expected to end that six-game stretch.Price has gone 3-2 with a 3.21 ERA in eight career starts against the As. Hes never faced the Padres.When the left-hander takes the mound for the bottom of the first Friday, he could have a new third baseman over his right shoulder.Prize prospect Yoan Moncada was among the players the Red Sox added when rosters were expanded to 40 players Thursday.Our teams that have had success have always had an injection of young players during the season that have helped carry the team to the postseason, Red Sox manager John Farrell told reporters Wednesday. I think Yoan would be in that similar category.Bostons only trip to Oakland and San Diego, of course, means each teams fan base will get an opportunity to say good-bye to retiring slugger David Ortiz.The fan favorite has never given Red Sox followers in the San Francisco Bay Area much to cheer about.His .271 career average versus the As is hhis second-lowest among all opponents against which hes played 100 or more games. Jake Bischoff Jersey. Only Baltimore (.268) has limited him to a lower average.And his 23 home runs against Oakland is his second-fewest (100 or more games). Only Kansas City (21) has held him to fewer.Ortiz will take his cracks in this series against three of the As young starters -- Andrew Triggs, Zach Neal and Kendall Graveman. Hes faced them only five times in his career, going hitless (0-for-3) with two walks.Ortiz has never homered against any of Oaklands current pitchers, going 4-for-18 (.222).Triggs recorded his first career win in his last outing, Sunday at St. Louis. He struck out eight Cardinals in six innings, allowing three runs on four hits in the 7-4 win.His previous start was even better. He shut out the Cleveland Indians over six innings, striking out six, but didnt get a decision in what turned out to be a 1-0 loss.The win over the Cardinals came within driving distance of his hometown of Nashville, Tenn., so he was able to celebrate the big day with family and friends.To pitch as well as he has, and work himself into the rotation, As manager Bob Melvin said after the game, its very rewarding to get him a win.The As will be playing their 10th consecutive game against playoff contenders Friday. Theyve gone a respectable 4-5 in the first nine, winning series against the Cardinals and Indians. 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