This year’s baseball team has only three seniors, and catcher Seth Spivey has made the most of his last season thus far garbed in the purple and white.
Ever since he was a little boy he was surrounded by the pastime, and during the holiday season his father and uncle would talk baseball. He might as well have been born on a baseball field.
“I grew up in a baseball family,” Spivey said. “My uncle played for Blinn Junior College and went on to play at TCU; my mom and dad both played through high school, and my sister plays at Blinn now and starts in center field for them.”
Seth does not have a specific position on the field. He can play anywhere. He has been known as a utility player since high school. As a senior at Brenham High, he led his team to a 4A State Championship and was selected as an All-State catcher and utility player.
Seth has a great outlook this season as one of the few seniors on the team, competing against a new conference and a new division. In the first five games the team batted in 60 runs.
“Our philosophy in hitting is just to be aggressive,” Spivey said. “We attack fastballs, hit pitches high in the zone and not just watch the first pitch go by, and so far I think it has proven to work.”
Since Spivey transferred from Angelina College, he has started in 52 games leading off for the Wildcats. His .314 batting average last season included 32 RBI’s, seven doubles, two triples and two home runs. Head coach Britt Bonneau calls him a spark.
“I’m really observant of what the coaches instill us, and I try to follow their lead in being a leader for the younger guys on the team,” Spivey said.
Seth has a lot of respect for his coaches because he knows they truly care about his ability to play at the next level. Spivey was told by coach Bonneau last spring of an opportunity to play summer ball in Oregon for a West Coast League. He was invited to the West Coast All-Star game after playing last summer.
The West Coast League recruits players from around the country to play for their teams learning instruction from a professional atmosphere, hoping to have participants return to their universities as better players.
Seth has always looked for opportunities to get better, especially since his dream is to play in the next level. He has received phone calls from the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers scouts, and they were at the games last weekend.
“I love my coaches – I mean I could not ask for better coaches to play for,” Spivey said. “They have given me opportunities to reach the next level and I could not ask for anything more than what they have taught me since I’ve been here.”
Spivey will continue to play second and gear up behind the plate this season for the ‘Cats. With his dream on the horizon, expect to see Spivey aggressively attacking each pitch and being that spark for the purple and white.
