Oregon

How three innings dictated FSU baseballs loss to Oregon State in Corvallis super regional

Published

6 months ago

June 9, 2025

How three innings dictated FSU baseballs loss to Oregon State in Corvallis super regional

Florida State baseball’s season ended in heartbreak after Oregon State beat the Seminoles 14-10 in the winner-take-all game three of the Corvallis Super Regional.

Nearly 3,000 miles away from home, the No. 9-seeded Seminoles (42-16) battled No. 8-seeded Oregon State with a berth to the College World Series in Omaha on the line. In a series between two college baseball heavyweights, the Beavers emerged victorious, while FSU begins its journey back to Tallahassee with questions of what could have been.

Over the 28 innings played at Goss Stadium, three innings seemingly were the difference in the series.

FSU gave up 16 runs over three crucial, season-defining innings in the super regional, and that proved to be the difference between a second consecutive trip to Omaha for the first time in over two decades and a heartbreaking flight home to Tallahassee for the Seminoles.

“They played better than we did. I felt like there were three innings, the ninth (game one), the first, and the third (game three) that we could not escape,” FSU head coach Link Jarrett told reporters postgame. “The game revolves around the big inning, and those three were the difference in this series.”

The ninth inning of game one handed Oregon State control of the series

It looked like the Seminoles had sealed a game one victory, leading Oregon State 4-1 going into the ninth with a red-hot Joe Charles on the mound on Friday night.

Fears of a leadoff double leading to a rally seemed to shrink after two quick outs recorded by Charles. However, a five-pitch walk and a pair of singles later dramatically loaded the bases and loosened the Seminoles’ grasp on a victory.

Charles faced Jacob Kreig, who was 1-for-3 with a double to that point of the game, and the first pitch he delivered ran to the backstop and scored a Beaver runner from third base.

The resilient Charles battled back and worked into a 2-2 count, and down to their final strike, Kreig launched a two-run single to tie the game, swinging momentum in favor of the Beavers. The hit ultimately forced extra innings, and after the Seminoles went down 1-2-3 in the top of the 10th, Oregon State walked it off to snatch a game one victory, and more importantly, control of the series.

Since the NCAA implemented super regionals in 1999, the winners of game one of the best-of-three series had gone on to win the series 158 of 200 times, a 79% win rate.

Two home run filled innings ended FSU’s season in Corvallis

The Seminoles tested the odds with a 3-1 win on Saturday, anchored by quality pitching from Jamie Arnold and Peyton Prescott to force a winner-takes-all game.

With all to play for in game three, it looked like the Seminoles had made an early statement of intent as Max Williams launched a two-run home run in the top of the first on Sunday to give FSU a quick 2-0 lead.

Coming off a career-high eight innings pitched vs. Mississippi State, Wes Mendes toed the rubber with hopes of delivering something similar in Corvallis.

However, five hits, two home runs and seven runs later, Mendes exited the game after less than an inning pitched, and a touchdown allowed in the first inning. For the second time in the series, the Beavers had snatched away the momentum from FSU in dramatic fashion.

“This was built around stating pitching, and Wes had been fighting an illness this week, the travel, and the different allergy stuff that’s going on out here for him, he didn’t look like it was as good as I’ve seen it,” Jarrett said.

“You have to have command of secondary pitch. We were trying to get him through it to see if he can find one of the secondary pitches, and you have an all-right-handed lineup. It seemed like if he could get that changeup going, that changeup’s pretty good. But they were on it, and we could not get out of it. That was damage.”

While jarring, a 7-2 lead didn’t feel insurmountable for the Seminoles, and a second inning Chase Williams home run proved FSU wasn’t going to roll over without landing a few counter blows.

But after delivering a staggering right hook in the first inning, the Beavers landed a knockout punch in the third with six runs scored, including a grand slam and a two-run home run to put the game out of FSU’s reach, despite their best comeback efforts.

The Beavers hit four home runs in the two innings, and scored six runs with two outs, with 11 of the 14 runs the team scored coming on the long ball.

The two innings counteracted what was FSU’s best offensive performance of the weekend as the Seminoles outhit their opponent 17-12, and scored runs in all but three innings, and held Oregon State scoreless after the fourth.

And FSU wasn’t without its opportunities to tie the game, as 10 runners were left on base, including two innings that ended with the bases loaded.

Ultimately, missed opportunities and three innings of poor pitch execution out of the 28 innings played in the series sent the Seminoles home, and not to Omaha.

“We fought, we had chances, believe it or not. This game, you could have looked up, and this thing could have been 14-14, and still going,” Jarrett said. “But some of the at-bats, some of those moments, we needed to do a little bit more, and we needed a crooked number.”

“And we were scoring… but we needed that big blow, that big one, and we didn’t get it.”

Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney

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Oregon

Oregon wakes up to some flooding. What happens now?

Published

13 minutes ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Oregon wakes up to some flooding. What happens now?

Oregonians woke up to flooding, which was gradually dissipating the morning of Dec. 19, following a third atmospheric river that dumped 2-5 inches of rain in just 24 hours across northwest Oregon.

Many schools were delayed or canceled, some roads were closed and around 18,000 people were without power.

Heavy rain the night of Dec. 18 led to many roads being flooded across the Willamette Valley. But with only sporadic rainfall in the forecast, meteorologists said standing water should gradually drop.

Stream levels were still high and in some cases still in flood stages, on the Santiam, Clackamas and other smaller streams like the Pudding and Luckimute. But many had crested and were dropping as of the morning of Dec. 19.

“The rivers and creeks that respond rapidly will be coming down in next few hours, but some of the other larger streams are still on their way up and won’t crest until Saturday in some cases,” said Sebastian Westerink, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Portland.

Where did rivers flood their banks?

The most serious situation was on the Clackamas River near Estacada and Oregon City, where the river reached major flood levels.

Closer to Salem, moderate flooding was seen on the Santiam River in Jefferson while the Luckimute, Molalla and Pudding rivers were also still rising into major flood levels.

The Willamette River in Salem will continue to rise above action stage and not crest until Dec. 20, likely leaving some low-lying roads and sites like Minto-Brown Island Park closed.

24 hour rainfall totals (7 a.m. on Dec. 18 to 7 a.m. on Dec. 19)

Eagle Creek near Estacada: 2.77

Cascade Foothills: 4-6 inches

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors and BlueSky at oregonoutdoors.bsky.social

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Oregon

Lawyers claim repeated denial to clients at Oregon ICE facilities

Published

12 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Lawyers claim repeated denial to clients at Oregon ICE facilities

U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken heard additional testimony during a two-hour hearing on Dec. 18 in Innovation Law Lab’s lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the Department of Homeland Security over what they say is a systemic denial of access to counsel at Oregon ICE facilities.

Attorneys with Innovation Law Lab first filed the suit in October on behalf of CLEAR Clinic and the farmworker union Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste. An amended complaint was filed on Nov. 13, adding “Leon X” as a plaintiff and seeking class action status.

The suit asks Aiken to issue a preliminary injunction requiring the federal government to grant access to counsel before someone is transferred out of state.

In a Dec. 15 court filing, Innovation Law Lab said ICE, CBP and DHS’s system for access to counsel is “no system at all.”

Director of Legal Advocacy at Innovation Law Lab Tess Hellgren again told Aiken that the federal government has been making mass arrests and detaining people across Oregon to meet quotas disclosed in other cases.

“What defendants have not made efforts to increase, as established by their own declaration, is access to counsel at the Oregon field offices,” Hellgren said. “Individuals detained at these Oregon field offices are allowed to access counsel only if it is convenient for defendants.”

Hellgren said access to counsel at Oregon field offices is crucial.

“What happens at these Oregon facilities before transfer may result in irreversible consequences for an individual case,” Hellgren said.

Surge of ICE arrests in Oregon in recent months

Civil immigration arrests increased 1,400% since October and 7,900% compared to 2024, according to Innovation Law Lab.

Emily Ryo, a professor at Duke University Law School, submitted research in a declaration for the lawsuit using data released by ICE in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

That dataset revealed that the average daily ICE arrest rate in Oregon rose from 0.3 to 1.39 per day in the summer of 2025. In October, daily arrests in Oregon surged to 17.45 arrests per day.

The Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition said that during October, the hotline received reports of more than 292 detentions, at a rate of 15 to 45 per day. PIRC received reports of at least 35 people detained in Woodburn in a single day.

Woodburn declared a state of emergency on Nov. 21. Other nearby cities, like Salem, have also declared emergencies.

In November, PIRC received reports of 373 detentions, and the hotline received reports of 94 detentions in the first week of December, according to court documents.

Organizing Director for PCUN Marlina Campos said the organization has had to stop focusing on key campaigns to be in “rapid response mode.”

Staff patrol the streets to monitor ICE activity and notify PCUN members if they cannot leave their homes or go to work. Staff have also canvassed door-to-door and heard directly about ICE’s impact, Campos said. At least four PCUN members have been arrested, she said.

Campos described Oct. 30 on the stand, saying she saw masked agents cross the street as she made her way to PCUN’s office in Woodburn. Campos said she got out of her car, started recording and contacted PIRC.

“There was a lot of panic,” Campos said. “It was unbelievable.”

Lawyers detail difficulties contacting Oregon detainees before transfer

Aiken heard testimony from CLEAR Clinic staff attorney Josephine Moberg and Eugene immigration attorney Katrina Kilgren about their recent difficulties in meeting with clients at ICE offices in Portland and Eugene. Both submitted more than one declaration in support of the case.

Moberg said she’s been to the Portland field office approximately 20 times since she began working at the CLEAR Clinic in June.

She said “oftentimes” officials say there is a problem that prevents her from meeting with prospective or current clients at the facility. Moberg said it takes a “few exchanges” before officers permit her entrance.

She spoke further about her experience of being denied access to the facility on July 30. According to a declaration, Moberg was at the facility, waiting in the lobby for more than an hour to meet with prospective clients, but was never able to do so. Her clients were transported out of Oregon, presumably while she was waiting, she said. Moberg submitted another declaration about a similar experience on Nov. 11 when she attempted to meet with seven prospective clients who had been arrested.

Officers came outside and told her and another attorney that the building was closed for Veterans’ Day. Large vans with tinted windows entered and left the facility as Moberg was outside.

Kilgren said attorneys have been told to wait outside the Eugene building since May and June of 2025. She said three dates stood out: Oct. 15, Nov. 5 and Nov. 19, when several people were arrested in the Eugene area.

In a Nov. 4 declaration, she said she had appointments with two people she was representing but was refused permission to join them. A building security guard threatened to trespass her if she did not exit, she said.

She said access at the Eugene office keeps getting “more and more limited.”

Both Moberg and Kilgren spoke of difficulties scheduling meetings with clients at the Tacoma, Washington detention center and other facilities.

Moberg said she went to attend a video call with a client at the Louisiana detention center last week and learned he had already signed voluntary departure paperwork and had been deported before he was able to receive any advice about his rights.

Federal government limits hearing response, denies claims

U.S Department of Justice attorney Michael Velchik did not provide an opening statement and called only CLEAR Clinic executive director Elena Tupper as a witness.

Velchik asked how many CLEAR Clinic attorneys she supervises and whether CLEAR Clinic is registered to have itself listed at ICE offices. Tupper said CLEAR Clinic is not, but the Equity Core of Oregon, which CLEAR Clinic is part of, is.

ICE, CBP and DHS denied that they regularly restrict access to lawyers and also asked the court not to grant class-action certification.

They said limitations exist at all three of ICE’s field offices in Oregon, located in Portland, Eugene, and Medford, because individuals cannot be held longer than 12 hours at the offices under land use agreements. Those limitations mean it is not always possible to accommodate immediate in-person visitation with attorneys before transport, lawyers for ICE, CBP, and DHS said in a Dec. 15 filing.

They said Innovation Law Lab presented “no evidence” that Leon X was likely to be arrested and subsequently unlawfully denied access to an attorney while in custody. They also pushed back against the existence of a uniform policy or practice as a reason Aiken should decline class-action certification.

Velchik said the government was concerned that the lawsuit could be used “to leverage the machinery of the judiciary” to interfere with and affect the safety of ICE facilities and enforcement of immigration law.

“I can’t stress enough that the government emphatically opposes any injunction that would restrict our ability to protect the safety of federal officers and detainees by limiting where and how long they must be detained,” Velchick said.

He said the plaintiffs would want a CLEAR Clinic attorney to sign off before DHS could perform a transfer, a notion he called “insane.”

Aiken said she would take the court filings and testimony into consideration.

She said she would issue an opinion “as quickly as possible,” but did not provide a projected date for that decision.

Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com on X @DianneLugo or Bluesky @diannelugo.bsky.social.

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Oregon

Who Could Contend for Top Honors in Oregon Boys Basketball? Here Are Six Contenders

Published

1 day ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Who Could Contend for Top Honors in Oregon Boys Basketball? Here Are Six Contenders

We’ve just tipped off the 2025-26 high school basketball season in Oregon, but it’s never too early to start thinking about who might win state player of the year honors when the nets are cut down in March.

Here are six players who are among the contenders for Oregon’s Mr. Basketball title come season’s end.

Gaines’ coach with the Hawks, Daniel Blanks, called his star point guard “the ultimate competitor and winner,” and Gaines led the team to a share of its first Mt. Hood Conference title last year when he averaged 21.5 points, 5.9 assists and 2.8 steals. He has drawn interest from Idaho, Oregon State, Seattle University and Utah and received an offer from Portland State.

Khyungra led the Falcons to the 5A state championship last year, averaging 23.5 points. He worked over the summer to add bulk to his slight frame to better endure the pounding coach Sean Kelly expects him to take this season.

Lake, like older brother Josiah (Oregon State), will play Division I ball next year after signing with Montana last month. Now, the 6A all-state second-team selection will look to build upon a junior season during which he averaged 21.1 points, 4.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game. “He is a complete player in all facets of the game,” said Timberwolves assistant coach Thomas Duggan.

Montague, better known as Fuzzy, received 6A all-state honorable mention list while averaging close to 17 points, five rebounds and five assists per game as a junior for Roosevelt before transferring across town to join the burgeoning Northeast Portland power — ranked No. 1 in the initial High School On SI Oregon rankings — over the summer.

Paschal broke out for the Rams during their run to the 6A state title in 2024, flashing the potential to become one of the top guards in the Northwest. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in January that derailed both a promising junior campaign (14.8 ppg, 6 rpg) and Central Catholic’s hopes of repeating as champion.

After a breakout junior season during which he averaged 20 points and six rebounds, Rigney seeks to lead the Lakers back to the 6A state tournament and bolster his hopes of going to a D-1 school. “Liam is a three level scorer who has to be accounted for on every possession,” said coach Tully Wagner.

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