Mississippi Gulf News

Smith, Fields named Bulldogs of the Week

Sean Smith and Simaru Fields have been named Bulldogs of the Week for Feb. 13-19.

Smith, a sophomore outfielder from Pascagoula, slugged four more home runs for Mississippi Gulf Coast in a 3-1 week. He hit two home runs in an 11-1 win over Coastal Alabama-East, driving in six runs. He had a grand slam in the Bulldogs' 9-4 win at Nunez with a home run and a double in a 15-3 victory in the second game. He batted .429 and slugged 1.357. Smith is second in the country with six home runs and fourth with 19 RBI.

Fields, a freshman guard from Gulfport, averaged 24.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 4.0 assists during Mississippi Gulf Coast's 2-0 week. In a 66-50 win over Northwest Mississippi, she poured in 31 points and eight of her 11 rebounds were on the offensive glass. She also had five assists and three steals. In a 58-44 win at Southwest Mississippi, she scored 18 points and had six rebounds with six steals.

Also nominated:

Brody Swindle, a freshman lefty from Fairhope, Ala., struck out 10 in five innings of work to earn an 11-1 win over Coastal Alabama-East. He allowed just two hits and walked only one.

Alessio Graziani, a sophomore from Johannesburg, South Africa, tied for second at the Coastal Alabama Invitational to help No. 2 Gulf Coast win its sixth tournament of the year. He was one shot behind the medalist, and Gulf Coast won by four shots over Eastern Florida State, which is ranked sixth in Division I.

Hayden Hensarling, a sophomore from Ocean Springs, won all four of her points for No. 11 Gulf Coast in a 2-0 week. She and Kendall Burn swept through their No. 2 doubles opponents, and she drop just one game in four sets at No. 4 singles. She helped Gulf Coast get off to a 2-0 start in MACCC play with wins over Itawamba and East Central.

Orren Ladner, a sophomore from Wiggins, was dominant for No. 14 Gulf Coast in a 2-0 week. He and teammate Anderson Dulaney dropped only three games in winning a pair of No. 2 doubles matches. Ladner dropped the same number of games in winning all four sets at No. 4 singles. He helped Gulf Coast get off to a 2-0 start in MACCC play with wins over Itawamba and East Central.

Jett Harrell, a freshman from Clarksdale, batted .667 with three RBI in four games last week. She had a triple and a double. In the circle, she went 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA.

Donovan Sanders, a sophomore point guard from Walls, averaged 21.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in a 1-1 week for Mississippi Gulf Coast. In an 84-65 win at Northwest Mississippi, he had 20 points, three rebounds and three steals. In an 83-76 loss to Southwest, he had 22 points on 10-for-13 shooting from the field with six rebounds and six assists. Sanders shot 60.7 percent from the field for the week and was 2-for-3 on 3-pointers in both games.

Original source can be found here.