Monthly Archives: February 2010

Delta State showed some power in its opener today, hitting three home runs. But the Statesmen also got a shaky start from Trey Griffin and committed three errors in a 6-4 loss to Lynn, which is also ranked in NCAA Division II. Cade Hoggard, who led DSU with 13 homers in 2009, hit one of the three today at Boca Raton, Fla. Michael Niemann, who led DSU with a .353 average in ’09, hit a homer and Josh Gordon added the other. Griffin, 7-0 last season, lasted just 4 1/3 innings and allowed eight hits and four runs (three earned). DSU may be playing with a chip on its shoulder this season, having been left out of the D-II Tournament field last spring despite a 38-16 record and a share of the Gulf South Conference West title. The Statesmen were picked second in the West in a preseason poll this year.

The numbers got Tim Dillard on Wednesday. The former Itawamba Community College standout was designated for assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers, who no longer had room for him on their 40-man roster after claiming another right-handed pitcher, Marco Estrada, off waivers from Washington. Dillard, 26, has had a couple of lackluster stints in the big leagues, posting a 6.27 ERA over 18 2/3 innings. He’s a big guy with good stuff, as they say, and has had success in the minors (he won 11 games at Triple-A Nashville in 2009). But the Brewers had to make a roster move, and Dillard was the odd man out. “Hopefully, we can work out a way to keep Dillard,” Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash told mlb.com. The Brewers could lose Dillard to a waiver claim by another club. Or Dillard might want to pursue other opportunities. He’s not done yet, for sure.