GORHAM – First there was the three-run homer that helped his team pull away from a tight game.

Then there was the diving stop to his left and subsequent throw across the diamond to first base to help squelch a potential comeback.

Following that was a perfect inning of relief, in which he struck out the side.

Tip Fairchild has had a few outstanding games in this his sophomore season at the University of Southern Maine. But last Thursday’s tour de force in the Huskies’ 12-4 trouncing of St. Joseph’s demonstrated better than any other the complete player the former Monmouth Academy star has become.

“He’s one of the top two-way players, I think, in America,” USM coach Ed Flaherty said following the game.

Utility man

Fairchild, a former Sun Journal Player of the Year, has filled so many roles this year for the Huskies that someone suggested his baseball card would read “UT” for utility.

On the mound, the right-hander has gone from the Huskies’ closer to one of their top starters, while still making occasional appearances in relief when needed. When he’s not on the mound, he’s been a DH, first baseman, second baseman and third baseman.

“I like to be in the lineup,” he said. “I just want to play.”

“He’s a tough guy to figure out where to put out there. I’ve played him at third, second, first, DH. He can play everywhere,” Flaherty said. “You do have to be a little concerned on where he plays on days when he’s not pitching. He’s got a strong arm, but at the same time, you don’t want to take a chance with it.”

But Flaherty knows he’s taking an even bigger chance whenever he doesn’t write Fairchild somewhere on his lineup card.

“I thought we might have kicked a game earlier in the year against Western Connecticut because we didn’t use him at all,” he said. “We had him as a closer, we just never used him because we were behind all of the time.”

“I’m not going to do that anymore,” he added. “I’m going to use him – start him, close him, bring him in the middle – I’m going to use him.”

Pitching in

Flaherty used Fairchild his freshman year a little bit more than he originally thought he would when he began recruiting him as a skinny pitcher/infielder at Monmouth.

“I really thought his thing would be pitching,” he said. “I thought he had a really good arm, and his curve ball was one of the better curve balls I’ve seen in quite a while. I didn’t know exactly where he’d fit into our plans offensively. Over time, I’ve gotten to appreciate what he can do for us offensively.”

Fairchild started slowly his freshman year. He didn’t get many at bats on the team’s annual early-season Florida trip. When he finally started playing third base regularly, he didn’t show much power at the plate. On the mound, he was used almost exclusively in relief.

Undeterred, Fairchild worked hard over the summer, playing in the Twilight League and working out in the weight room. The improvement was noticeable during his off-season throwing program.

“I just got bigger and (got more) arm strength. I put on probably about 10 pounds. I came back throwing a little bit harder,” said Fairchild, who is list at 6-foot-2 and weighs about 190 pounds.

The velocity on his fastball improved from the low-80s to the upper-80s and that pitch became a dependable complement to his knee-buckling curve.

“I used to always kind of just throw, and now I’m starting to pitch more,” he said. “Now I have two pitches that I can go to, rather than just the curve ball, to get hitters out.”

Breaking out

Fairchild didn’t expect to crack the Huskies’ starting rotation this year. His coach wasn’t sure what to do with him, either, even though he expected Fairchild to make major strides from his freshman to his sophomore year.

“I kind of figured this year that that’s where he’d be,” Flaherty said. “I just didn’t know whether to use him as a closer or a starter or what because he can play in the field.”

“I started out closing,” Fairchild said, “but I was only throwing two innings a week because we were just beating up on teams.”

While he wasn’t getting many opportunities to pitch, Fairchild’s versatility and his bat kept him in the lineup. He got the at-bats he was hoping for in Florida, and he showed that his newly-acquired power wasn’t limited to his right arm.

In seven less games this season compared to last, Fairchild already has more home runs (three to zero), and doubles (nine to five). He is slugging .545 and his .347 batting average nearly matches his slugging percentage of last year (.357).

As impressive as he’s been with a bat in his hands, his development as a pitcher is what has Flaherty excited. Fairchild leads the team with a 4-0 record and 1.85 ERA. He’s given up just 33 hits and nine walks in 39 innings while striking out a team-high 43 batters. He was named the Little East Conference’s Pitcher of the Week two weeks ago following a three-hit shutout against Keene State College in which he struck out 11 and didn’t walk anyone.

“You expect a kid that size with the good athletic ability to make a good jump and he’s done that,” Flaherty said. “He’s also worked at it awful hard. He is, if not our best guy in the weight room, one of our top guys.”

Fairchild accepts such praise humbly. He says his main priority is helping the Huskies get their first NCAA Division III World Series bid since 2001.

“This team’s unbelievable. It’s so young and there’s a lot of fire to it,” he said. “Obviously our goal is to win our conference tournament, but another goal is to win around 30 games, because you have a chance for an at-large bid. It’s tough to get them, but right now we’re rolling pretty good.”

They’re rolling in part because Fairchild seems to be everywhere, or at least wherever the team needs him.

Despite this, Flaherty still believes Fairchild will ultimately leave his mark at USM as a pitcher before all is said and done. But he’s not going to set any limits.

“His future is pitching,” Flaherty said. “If he’s got a chance to go on, it’s going to be on the hill. That’s the number one thing we’re going to work on with him.

“And we’re going to let him play.”

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