With one swing of the bat, Eugene Emeralds slugger Hunter Renfroe induced a collective sigh of relief from the Ems’ fans, the Eugene dugout, and most importantly, the bullpen.

In a wild, up-and-down slugfest of a game, it was Renfroe who provided the final fireworks on the evening, hitting a 2-run go ahead homer in the bottom of the 8th against Vancouver reliever Matt Johnson to put the Emeralds up for good 9-8.

At 17-27, the Emeralds aren’t accustomed to such a game like the one exhibited Sunday night. After tallying a combined 6 runs in the bottom of the 4th and 5th innings to take a 6-1 lead, the Vancouver Candians (25-19) rallied for 7 runs in the top of the 7th to take a 8-6 lead. Despite the rally, Eugene went back to work.

After Michael Bass grounded out, scoring Malquiel Brito to make it an 8-7 ballgame, Renfroe came to the plate with a runner on 3rd and a chance to tie the ball game. Instead, Renfroe hit an inning ending ground ball to end the rally for the Ems’ and leave them trailing by a run.

In the bottom of the 7th Eugene started a two-out rally, loading the bases on two singles and a walk, bringing Felipe Blanco to the plate with a chance at being the hero. However, the elusive clutch hit the Ems’ were looking for yet again avoided them as Blanco flied out to right to end the frame.

After escaping two late inning rallies relatively unscathed, Vancouver couldn’t run from the Ems’ offense forever. Renfroe’s two run, game winning blast in the bottom of the 8th gave life to a seemingly lifeless comeback pursuit that fans at PK Park have waited for all season.

Since being assigned to Eugene, Renfroe has been on a tear. The former Mississippi State star is currently hitting .352 and has four home runs in just 17 professional games.

With the win, the Ems’ improve to 4-2 in the second half of the season after a disappointing first half. If Eugene has any hope of continuing this upswing of a trend, expect most of the load to fall on the young phenom, Renfroe.