Renfroe stays hot in Emeralds' win

Being selected in the top half of the first round of the Draft brings with it big expectations. So far, Hunter Renfroe has done nothing but raise them.

The Padres' No. 6 prospect capped a two-hit night with a go-ahead two-run double in the eighth inning Saturday as short-season Eugene defeated Vancouver, 5-2, at PK Park.

Renfroe, who has eight multi-hit efforts in 16 games as a pro, was drafted 13th overall last month.

"It was very exciting for me and my family, overwhelming and just emotional for a lot of my family. The excitement just overwhelms the best of us," he said. "It was a lot of fun, but the placement could have been better -- we were in a motel room in Virginia [during the NCAA Super Regionals]."

The 21-year-old outfielder has handled the adjustment to professional baseball well, batting .333 with nine extra-base hits. He went 7-for-12 with two walks and a home run in his first three contests for the Emeralds and hasn't stopped raking. On Saturday night, he extended his hitting streak to five games with a single in the sixth.

"[The adjustment has] really not been that big, it's just been the difference between the [Southeastern Conference] umpires' strike zone and these guys' strike zone, which is a little different. The mental aspect of playing every day is a big difference and just getting used to the wooden bat," he said.

Renfroe entered Saturday with a 1.236 OPS at home and a .559 mark on the road.

"It's just a small sample size. We've played on the road twice and been at home a lot more of the time," he said. "Probably [the home/road split] will get a lot better than it was. In Canada, I had balls I hit hard, but they made good plays on them at the wall."

The 6-foot-1 right-handed hitter has four walks compared to 17 strikeouts in 66 at-bats, a ratio he'd like to improve.

"I need to cut down on the strikeouts and see the ball a lot better -- lay off pitches in the dirt, leave the ball up and let my hands react and not try to force anything to happen," Renfroe said.

Trae Santos doubled twice and drove in three runs and Ronnie Richardson added a double and a single for Eugene. Adam Cimber (2-1) gave up one hit over 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win and drop his ERA to 2.60.