CORVALLIS — It was, as Oregon State Beavers closer Bridger Holmes put it, a “bad idea.”
It was, as OSU Friday night starter Aiden May put it, “one of the worst things they could have done.”
It was, perhaps more than anything, a losing tactic.
After watching May overpower his potent lineup for five innings as if he were playing a video game, Oregon Ducks coach Mark Wasikowski resorted to a little gamesmanship, asking the umpire crew at Goss Stadium to check the Beavers’ ace for an illegal substance.
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The ridiculous request backfired, May turned the subterfuge into motivation, and the ninth-ranked Beavers rode his dominance to a much-needed 2-0 victory over the 22nd-ranked Ducks Friday night in the opener of a three-game Pac-12 series in Corvallis.
May baffled the Pac-12’s second-best offense from his first pitch to his last, allowing just one hit and striking out a career-high 14 over eight impressive innings. It was a masterful performance in a heated rivalry matchup, and it came in the Beavers’ first conference outing since their forgettable sweep last weekend at the Cal Bears.
“Love the pitching performance, love the energy from our guys, from our fans,” OSU coach Mitch Canham said. “I just feel like Goss was really in a great place tonight.”
At the very least, a sellout crowd of 3,943 was fired up after watching Wasikowski ask umpires to check May. The Oregon State (32-9, 11-7 Pac-12) ace had been cruising before the ill-fated request, surrendering just one hit and one walk through five innings. But after throwing his warmup tosses in between the bottom of the fifth and top of the sixth innings, the umpire crew approached the mound to survey May’s glove. They found nothing but black leather. May found a little extra motivation.
Four pitches later, he fanned Oregon leadoff hitter Justin Cassella, and as the ball whipped around the horn, May glared at the Oregon dugout, tapped the palm of his glove and shouted a few choice words.
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“I was just kind of asking them: ‘Where’s the sticky at?’” May said. “If anything, it’s a compliment from them … my stuff was feeling good tonight.”
He went on to retire seven batters in a row and nine of the final 10 he would face, allowing only one base runner over the final three innings. And that came via a throwing error by Mason Guerra on a routine grounder to third base.
May threw 114 pitches, including 83 strikes, mowing through the Ducks (28-13, 11-8) lineup with ease. He tossed 18 first-pitch strikes, had a no-hitter through 4 1/3 innings and allowed just four base runners in the game. Oregon managed only a fifth-inning infield single, a fourth-inning walk and a pair of base runners on OSU throwing errors.
When it was all said and done, May logged career-highs in strikeouts, innings and hits allowed as he improved to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 3.63. It was the first time since May 10, 2022, that the Ducks were held to one hit, and the first time since March 12, 2023, they were held scoreless.
“Obviously, it’s nasty stuff,” Canham said. “It’s moving. It’s sinking. It’s sliding. It’s riding. It’s doing all that stuff. And sometimes (a substance check) can get in people’s heads. But we saw right away, he just used it as, ‘Hey, my stuff must be pretty good if they want to come out and see what’s going on.’”
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When asked what pitches were working for him Friday, May replied: “everything.” But he also admitted that the superfluous substance check by Wasikowski — who has employed similar feeble tactics more than once this season — pushed him to another level.
After recording the final out in each of the final three innings, May danced and skipped off the mound toward the OSU dugout, raising his arms toward the night sky, tapping the palm of his glove and pointing in celebration. When he struck out the side in the eighth, May strutted off the mound, stopped short of his teammates along the third base line and flexed, releasing a monster scream.
“They can’t hit him,” Holmes said. “They know he doesn’t have any sticky stuff. His stuff’s too nasty. They couldn’t hit him, so they checked him. Obviously, it fired him up. I mean, you saw the reactions. He has the potential to do that every outing with the stuff he has. It’s the best stuff in college baseball. But putting it together like that and having the command he did today in a big game like this is huge for the team.”
Holmes’ performance wasn’t too shabby either. After coughing up his first three losses of the season last week — when he allowed two on walk-off homers — Holmes pitched a perfect ninth to earn his ninth save, needing just 11 pitches to retire the heart of Oregon’s lineup in order.
“That,” Canham said, “was a special performance right there.”
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The Beavers’ lineup, meanwhile, needed just two swings to deliver a victory. Brady Kasper and Travis Bazzana belted solo home runs in the second and third inning, respectively, to give Oregon State an early 2-0 lead. May took over from there.
Wasikowski poked the bear and the bear clawed back.
“I taunted them a little bit,” May said, grinning, of his reaction to the substance check. “But I was trying to keep it nice and easy. Of course something like that is going to fire up the crowd, is going to fire me up, fire up the bench. It was just kind of a perfect storm and, maybe, one of the worst things they could have done in that moment.”
Next up: The Beavers and Ducks continue their three-game series Saturday night at 6:05 at Goss Stadium.
— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
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Oregon hit back in the battle over transgender health care Tuesday, leading a coalition of states suing to block a proposed Trump administration policy that would cut off federal funding to institutions that provide gender affirming care to minors.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that rule change Dec. 18, with a declaration that condemned “sex-rejecting procedures” for minors as “neither safe nor effective”—putting the force the the U.S. federal government on the side of a mounting global movement that sees medical interventions, ranging from puberty blockers to hormone therapy to surgery, as plainly inappropriate treatments for youth diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
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In the new suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon and 18 other plaintiffs states say the declaration is not only wrong—”research and clinical data support gender-affirming care as a safe and effective treatment for gender dysphoria in adolescents”—but in violation of multiple federal laws.
The declaration violates laws banning the federal government from intervening in certain ways in the practice of medicine, the plaintiffs say. They also argue it violates laws governing how new federal rules are established. And though the declaration says it is issued “pursuant to the authority vested in” HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the plaintiffs say he does not in fact have the authority to declare the standard of medical care in the United States.
The suit also notes the way federal guidance conflict with the laws of certain plaintiff states. For example, Oregon law guarantees that the Oregon Health Plan cover gender-affirming care. If systems like Oregon Health & Science University and Legacy Health cease to provide this care, the plaintiffs say, patients under the Oregon health plan will lose access to gender-affirming care for which they are statutorily guaranteed coverage.
The legal battle comes as different countries, and U.S. states, issue divergent policies governing medical treatment for transgender youth.
Compounding the confusion is the fact that gender affirming care is a rather capacious term. It can refer to social affirmation of someone’s chosen gender identity, or legal affirmation, where government documents reflect that identity (the Trump administration has moved to restrict this too).
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The term can also refer to medical treatments, such as puberty blockers, which are generally reversible, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. It says other treatments like hormone therapy are partially reversible, while surgery is not reversible. The AAP endorses carefully-administered gender-affirming care in minors with gender dysphoria as a way to promote their physical and social well being.
The stakes in this debate are high for Oregon because OHSU has in recent years become a major provider of such care. The university’s press office hasn’t offered details on the scope of its patient base but, in a 2023 report, OHSU described its Transgender Health Program as one of the “largest and most comprehensive” in the United States.
The new Holgate Library opens in Southeast Portland on Saturday, July 13, 2024. The expanded space is now one of largest libraries in Multnomah County.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
The Multnomah County Library on Tuesday released the names of its most popular books in 2025, and the lists include several gems, including classics by literary giants Jane Austen and (for the under 5 set) Mo Willems.
Multnomah County’s 19 branches together hosted visitors more than 2 million times and checked out or renewed books and other items almost 9 million times so far this year.
Are your favorite books on the lists? Here are the most popular titles as of Dec. 1:
Physical books:
Top adult titles:
James: A Novel by Percival Everett (1,089 checkouts)
Tilt: A Novel by Emma Pattee (1,059 checkouts)
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (1,004 checkouts)
All Fours by Miranda July (973 checkouts)
Intermezzo: A Novel by Sally Rooney (758 checkouts)
Top teen titles:
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (507 checkouts)
The Blue Line Letters by Steven Christiansen (338 checkouts)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (217 checkouts)
Heartstopper. Volume 5. by Alice Oseman (192 checkouts)
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (168 checkouts)
Top kids titles:
The Thank You Book by Mo Willems (636 checkouts)
Pigs Make Me Sneeze!: An Elephant & Piggie Book by Mo Willems (625 checkouts)
My New Friend Is So Fun! by Mo Willems (611 checkouts)
Watch Me Throw the Ball! by Mo Willems (569 checkouts)
I Will Surprise My Friend!by Mo Willems (560 checkouts)
E-books and audiobooks (checkouts combined):
Top adult titles:
Solito by Javier Zamora (10,006 checkouts)
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (7,835 checkouts)
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (6,320 checkouts)
Pride and Prejudiceby Jane Austen (4,923 checkouts)
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson (4,824 checkouts)
Top teen titles:
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (3,215 checkouts)
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (2,958 checkouts)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (2,902 checkouts)
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (2,822 checkouts)
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (1,923 checkouts)
Top kids titles:
Hot Mess by Jeff Kinney (2,814 checkouts)
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (1,923 checkouts)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1,808 checkouts)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling (1,478 checkouts)
Beth Slovic is an editor on the public safety/breaking news team. She previously covered Portland City Hall at The Oregonian/OregonLive and has taught journalism at a number of Portland-area universities and…
Forecasters with the National Weather Service are closely monitoring the windstorm but say it’s still too early to predict how strong those winds will be on Wednesday.
A car is crushed by a fallen tree on Northeast 24th Avenue on Wednesday, Dec. 17., 2025 in Portland.
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Saskia Hatvany / OPB
A windstorm packing gusts of up to 65 mph could hit western Oregon and Southwest Washington on Christmas Eve, triggering power outages and downing trees, forecasters and electric utilities warned Monday.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service are closely monitoring the windstorm as it moves up the coast, but say it’s still too early to predict exactly how strong those winds will be on Wednesday.
Gusts of at least 45 miles per hour could pass through much of western Oregon and Southwest Washington between 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
While there is still a lot of uncertainty around the windstorm, now is the time for residents to get ready, said Hannah Chandler-Cooley, lead meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland.
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“People should take precautions such as securing any outdoor decorations, garbage bins, and be prepared for the potential for some localized power outages or tree damage,” she said.
Further south, two winter storms will bring snow and rain to Southern Oregon and northern California this week, just in time for holiday travel.
California’s Siskiyou County will get the brunt of the storms, particularly at higher elevations, starting Tuesday and lasting through Friday.
Heavy snow is expected on mountain passes over 4,500 feet, and some snow could fall on Interstate 5 in the area around California’s Mount Shasta on Friday as the snow level drops, according to the forecast.
Portland General Electric urged residents to prepare an outage plan and get emergency kits ready in case the power goes out. The utility company is also warning people of potential weather hazards like downed power lines.
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“You should always assume they are alive,” John Farmer, a spokesperson with PGE, said. “You should never go near them. Don’t touch them. Don’t use a stick or a branch to move. Just stay away.”
Following the heavy rains that plummeted the region last week, the NWS also warns that soils across the state are still really saturated. That, combined with gusty winds, could knock over weakened trees and branches.
Mindy McCartt, a spokesperson with the Oregon Department of Transportation, says their crews are still working to clear up debris left behind by last week’s storms.
“Crews will continue cleanup from the previous storms while also preparing and staffing up for the next potential event,” she said. “If the storm hits as forecast, maintenance crews will be ready to respond as soon as conditions allow.”
McCartt says people who are planning to hit the road this holiday week should take extra precautions. She also recommends checking road conditions before heading out for possible closures or delays.
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