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.
SALEM, Ore. (KATU) — Oregon’s childhood vaccination rates have fallen to their lowest levels on record, while the number of parents claiming nonmedical vaccine exemptions continues to climb, according to newly released data from the Oregon Health Authority.
The agency reported on Thursday that 85.6% of Oregon kindergarteners were up to date on required vaccines during the 2025-26 school year.
At the same time, the nonmedical exemption rate reached a record high of 10.9%.
State health officials say the trend is raising concerns about the potential for outbreaks of highly contagious diseases, including measles and whooping cough.
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“Although the vast majority of families in Oregon are still choosing to protect families through vaccination, the downward trends are deeply concerning,” said Dr. Howard Chiou, medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations at OHA. “We risk seeing the return of diseases such as measles and polio—diseases of the past that once caused widespread harm but are entirely preventable with vaccines.”
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The statewide numbers tell only part of the story.
According to OHA, more than one in three Oregon schools with at least 10 students have measles vaccination rates below 95%, the threshold public health officials say is needed to help prevent outbreaks through community immunity.
Chiou said those exemption rates, combined with lower vaccination coverage at some schools, are increasing the risk of disease outbreaks.
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The concerns come as Oregon and the nation are seeing increases in vaccine-preventable diseases.
OHA says the nonmedical exemption rate for the second dose of the measles vaccine has nearly doubled over the past decade, rising from 4.9% to 9.4%.
The state also recorded 1,475 cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, in 2025, the highest total in 75 years.
What could happen if the trend continues?
Dr. Alanna Braun, a pediatrician at OHSU, said declining vaccination rates increase the likelihood of disease outbreaks.
“The thing that really stands out to me the most is just sort of the trend of just ongoing decreased immunization rates across our state and seeing how many schools here in Oregon are now at risk for major outbreaks of some really serious illnesses,” said Braun.
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Braun said communities become more vulnerable when vaccination rates fall below the level needed to prevent the spread of disease.
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She noted that outbreaks can affect more than just unvaccinated students.
“A lot of kids have infant siblings at home who are not able to be vaccinated,” Braun said. “Certainly, there are kids in all of these schools who are unable to be vaccinated, kids who are undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. There are teachers who are immunocompromised for various reasons.”
Braun said the long-term outlook is concerning if vaccination rates continue to fall.
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“As we’re seeing reduced rates of immunizations, I think it’s more and more likely that we are gonna see some of these preventable illnesses with more frequency,” she said.
What parents can do
OHA is encouraging parents to check vaccination rates at their child’s school and talk with their healthcare provider if they have questions about vaccines.
“We want to empower families to make informed decisions,” said Chiou. “We want parents to revisit and reconsider their decisions because the situation in Oregon has changed.”
Parents can view vaccination and exemption rates for individual schools using OHA’s School Immunization Data Dashboard.
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – Starting in 2026, a new law in Oregon requires all non-motorized boats, regardless of size, to buy and carry a waterway access permit. That includes paddleboards and kayaks.
But there has been some push back from one organization.
Ben Roche is part of Let Us Paddle. The organization aims to repeal the updates to the waterway access permit.
“It’s Oregonians constitutional right to free access to our waterways. And human powered watercrafts are the best way to do that, and the least environmentally impactful,” said Roche.
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According to the Oregon State Marine Board, permit fees range from $6 to $35.
If you’re caught without a permit, there’s a $115 fine.
The state agency says the funding goes directly to two programs.
One supports aquatic invasive species watercraft inspection stations and the other improves access points to the water that specifically serve paddlers.
“There is a need for inspection and we support that. What we don’t support is charging recreational paddleboarders for cleaning of motorboats that enter our state,” said Roche.
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Roche adds, the state is only funding a few dozen access points.
Let Us Paddle has collected at least 20,000 signatures, and they want about 130,000 more by July 2.
They need at least 120,000 verified signatures to put the repeal before voters on the November ballot.
But even if they don’t meet the requirement, Roche says he’ll keep pushing for change.
“I think it’s really a poorly crafted bill that collects a small drop in the bucket of revenue but impacts thousands of recreational kayakers across the state,” said Roche.
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FOX 12 reached out to the Oregon State Marine Board to ask more questions, but have not yet to heard back.
Oregon DMV temporarily paused dispersing new undercover vehicle license plates starting April 15.
FILE – The U.S. Department of Justice seal is seen on a podium before a news conference, May 4, 2026, in Washington.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP
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The Justice Department is suing four states after they refused to issue confidential license plates to federal law enforcement agencies, despite having done so in the past.
The lawsuits, filed Wednesday in Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts and Maine, seek to force states to resume what the federal government describes as long-standing, routine policies.
The scope of the combined litigation raises questions about ways the federal government has aggressively carried out immigration enforcement since President Donald Trump’s reelection, and whether the Constitution grants states the power to deny federal law enforcement agencies license plates that effectively conceal officers’ identities.
“Oregon’s DMV policy illegally discriminates against the United States, violates the Supremacy clause, and is unconstitutional,” attorneys for the federal government argued in court filings.
Oregon DMV temporarily paused disbursing new undercover license plates to all federal agencies starting April 15.
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“The DMV is currently evaluating the undercover vehicle registration program to ensure the program complies with Oregon law,” Oregon DMV Administrator Amy Joyce explained in a May 22 letter to Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate.
A recent lawsuit filed against Oregon State Police alleges the state is providing personal information to federal immigration authorities through databases, including Oregon’s DMV.
“If the DMV process for issuing undercover plates could be questioned under Oregon law, the State is at risk for additional litigation,” Joyce explained in the letter to Shumate.
The state’s review of the undercover license plate program doesn’t prevent federal vehicles from legally driving on Oregon roads.
“State and local law enforcement are unaffected by this pause and the federal agencies that participate in the program are able to continue to use their existing unexpired plates,” Kevin Glenn, a spokesperson for Gov. Tina Kotek wrote in a statement.
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Immigration officers have relied on these license plates for enforcement, including during Operation Black Rose in Oregon. According to U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement, officers arrested more than 1,498 people between September and March, which led to 1,057 removals.
The lawsuits filed Wednesday argue the states’ DMV policies undermine ongoing federal investigations.
“Federal law enforcement agencies should not be subject to the challenged DMV policy, which is unconstitutional and recklessly disregards officer safety, public safety, and federal operational needs‚” the Justice Department’s lawsuit states.
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