March 5, 2012
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - After playing a key role in each of Missouri State's four victories last week, senior third baseman Brent Seifert has been named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for the period February 27 through March 4, the league office announced Monday.
Seifert powered the Missouri State offense with a .412 batting average, .824 slugging percentage and nine RBIs, helping the Bears to their best start in 13 seasons with a perfect 4-0 week. Five of the senior third baseman's seven hits on the week went for extra bases, including three two-run doubles and a three-run homer in MSU's weekend sweep of Northwestern State. After going 1-for-3 with a pair of walks in MSU's 7-1 rout of Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Wednesday, Seifert recorded multi-hit and multi-RBI games in all three outings at NSU, coming through with key two-out, two-run doubles in each of the first two games of the set, then clubbing a game-clinching three-run homer in the finale on Sunday. He matched a career-high with four RBIs in an 8-3 win on Friday and drove in the tying and go-ahead runs in the Bears' 3-2 victory on Saturday that handed head coach Keith Guttin his 1,000th career win. Seifert extended his career-best streak of consecutive games reaching base to 17 contests by going 2-for-4 with two runs scored in Sunday's 9-1 victory.
The senior from Cameron, Mo., shares the team lead and ranks third in the Valley with 15 RBIs on the season. Additionally, he leads the MVC in walks with 12, while his six doubles rank just behind MSU teammate Spiker Helms's league-leading total of eight.
After going 9-3 on their 12-game season-opening road swing, the Bears return to Hammons Field to open the 2012 home slate with a 4 p.m., contest against Oklahoma State Tuesday (March 6) afternoon.
