SEC honors Seitz, Ivy
Standout senior campaigns for Mississippi State's Caroline Seitz and Amanda Ivy just got even better, as the two earned All-Southeastern Conference honors on Tuesday, the league announced.
Seitz, who has torn through conference play and leads the league in SEC-only games with 28 runs batted in, 55 total bases, seven home runs and a .724 slugging percentage, landed on the All-SEC first team. Seitz becomes MSU's 19th All-SEC first team selection and the first since Chelsea Bramlett pulled in the honor in 2010.
One of the nation's best outfielders who has robbed a number of home runs while locking down center field, Ivy was selected to the All-SEC Defensive Team. She becomes the first player in school history to reel in All-SEC Defensive Team laurels.
This is the second All-SEC honor for Seitz, as she landed on the league's all-freshman team in 2014, while this is the first for Ivy in her career.
“I am so proud of both of these young ladies,” MSU coach Vann Stuedeman said. “They have given their all to the Maroon and White. They have exemplified what it means to be passionate about their craft. This league is packed with great players and these awards are tough to earn. Congratulations to Caroline and Ivy, two of the best.”
A native of Birmingham, Ala., Seitz finished the regular season on an absolute tear at the plate, helping lead the Bulldogs to four SEC series victories in the final five weekends of the year. Along with pacing the SEC in the four categories, her .368 clip, 28 hits and six doubles in conference games all stand in the top five. Seitz paces State with 44 RBI, nine home runs and a .545 slugging percentage and has tallied 11 multi-RBI games throughout the 2017 season. She has also flashed her skills on the defensive side of things, locking down third base and leading the SEC with 138 assists this year.
Her hot streak began when MSU took a home series from South Carolina, which featured a two-double, two-RBI performance in the Saturday game. She went on to have a monster weekend in the next series at No. 19 Georgia, going 7-for-10 with 14 RBI, four homers, two being grand slams, a 1.900 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage. She became the first player in school history to record a grand slam in back-to-back games when she connected for one in both games one and two. She also accomplished a program first by hitting four home runs during a weekend SEC series.
For her efforts, Seitz earned Louisville Slugger NFCA, USA Softball and SEC Player of the Week honors. She became just the second player in school history to earn all three awards in the same week, joining former MSU All-American Iyhia McMichael.
Seitz is currently riding a career-high 17-game hitting streak, which is the ninth-longest streak in school history. The slugger has hit three home runs over the last two weekends, which included a home series win against No. 16 Kentucky.
MSU's other All-SEC recipient on Tuesday, Ivy is no stranger to jaw-dropping plays in the outfield. Ivy has robbed opponents of home runs three times this year, with her wall-crashing catch against No. 24 Arkansas, which was recently voted SEC Softball Catch of the Year, highlighting the group. Ivy earned the six spot on Sports Center's Top 10 and No. 3 on the NCAA's weekly top 10 for that catch, while also reeling in national exposure from SEC Network, Cut4 and Sports Illustrated.