Fairchild rides four-hit night for Mustangs

Stuart Fairchild has no regrets about passing up his first opportunity to play professional baseball. Three years later, there isn't much doubt the 21-year-old made the right decision.
Fairchild collected a career-high four hits, scored four runs and stole two bases in Rookie-level Billings' 13-5 win over Orem on Tuesday night at Dehler Park. He also drove in a run and reached base five times in six plate appearances.

Originally drafted by Washington in the 38th round in 2014, Fairchild passed on his first opportunity to turn pro and attended Wake Forest, where he hit .334/.424/.541 in three seasons. Cincinnati took him with the 38th overall pick last month after he batted .360/.439/.636 with 17 homers and 67 RBIs in his junior season. Fairchild began his professional career by hitting safely in five straight games and in 11 of his first 13. 
"It wasn't even a question at the time," the Reds' second-rounder said. "I had made my mind up even before the [2014] Draft that I wanted to go to Wake Forest and then see where my career took me from there. It was the best three years of my life and I wouldn't trade it for the world."
Gameday box score
Fairchild singled to center field and scored on a single by Andy Sugilio during Billings' five-run first inning. He led off the second with a base hit to left, stole second and came home on Montrell Marshall's single. After flying out in the fourth, Fairchild led off the sixth with another single to center. He swiped second and scored on Leandro Santana's knock to extend the Mustangs' lead to 8-3. The 6-foot, 190-pound outfielder dropped another single into center in the seventh and crossed home on Morgan Lofstrom's hit later in the frame. He was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth for his lone RBI.
"It's been different for sure. I'm playing baseball in places where I've never played before and with a lot of guys who don't speak much English, but it's been great," the Seattle native said. "I like the team we have here and the dynamic. Guys pick each other up constantly and we all want to succeed. It almost feels like a team back in college, which I wasn't really expecting. I figured a lot of the guys would be more concerned about themselves, but that hasn't been the case at all."
Fairchild has notched four of his seven multi-hit efforts during an 11-for-16 (.688) stretch that has raised his average 79 points to .329. He leads the Mustangs with nine stolen bases without being caught. His big night boosted his average this month to .396.

"The competition is tough, but it's also comparable to what I faced in the [Atlantic Coast Conference]," Fairchild said. "The talent is a lot rawer here than what I was used to. There's guys who can hit the ball a mile or throw 100 mph, but the approaches aren't quite as developed yet.
"Having a guy like Coach [Tom Walter] in college was a big help. He developed good ballplayers as well as men. I feel like I grew a lot as a person and much of that goes to his tutelage. He was a big proponent of getting his education and learning about life, which carries over into baseball too."
Sugilio drove in three runs, Carlos Rivero had three hits and Marshall added two RBIs.
Jeyson Sanchez homered and collected four RBIs for Orem.