The Eugene Emeralds bounced back after a disappointing loss to even their series with the Everett AquaSox at a game apiece with a 6-3 win Thursday night. The San Diego Padres first round pick Hunter Renfroe made his professional debut and collected his first two hits, an infield single in the fourth and an opposite field double in the fifth.
“(Got) the first hit off my chest and swung the bat well and it was a good start,” said a very humble Renfroe on his performance. “I was a little bit rusty, came back and had three good days of BP, and did what I had to do.” Renfroe is coming to Eugene fresh off of leading Mississippi State to their first ever College World Series final. Though he played all over the field at the collegiate level including pitcher and catcher, Renfroe will likely be an outfielder in the pros.
Renfroe scored Eugene’s first run of the night on a Fernando Perez groundout to second, which would be followed up by a Henry Charles RBI double to give the Ems a 2-0 lead after four innings. Then Jim Gabella and the Emeralds played small ball in the fifth to tack on another run; Felipe Blanco led off with a double and was moved to third via a Ronnie Richardson sac bunt, and later scored when Edwin Moreno hit a sacrifice fly to deep right field. The Ems haven’t executed well with runners on base as of late, so tonight’s improvement may be a positive sign of things to come.
The AquaSox cut the Ems’ lead down to 3-2 in the top half of the sixth. D.J. Peterson provided the big hit with two runners on and one out, doubling home Michael Faulkner and Justin Seager. After a walk and an error, Everett had the bases loaded with one down, but reliever Kyle Lloyd recorded back-to-back strikeouts to escape the threat.
The game was briefly tied in the seventh when Faulkner scored on a wild pitch by Michael Kelly, his second of the inning. The Ems answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh with more well-executed situational hitting. Blanco lined another leadoff double to right center and was advanced to third on another Richardson bunt. Blanco would score on a Moreno single to re-gain the lead. With the bases loaded and two outs, Moreno scampered home on a wild pitch by AquaSox reliever Aaron Brooks.
Eugene starter Yimmi Brasoban pitched well but got a no decision, allowing one run on three hits over five innings of work, lowering his team-leading ERA to 2.00. Kelly picked up the win in relief (1-1) and Adam Cimber closed it out in the ninth for his third save of the season.
Despite any rookie hazing that may take place in college and the pros, Renfroe said it’s all about having fun as a member of the Emeralds.
“It’s all good guys here and we have a lot of fun together, and we’ll continue to win and have fun.”