CORVALLIS — Before the Oregon State baseball team played its final midweek game of the season, coach Mitch Canham strolled up to sophomore Laif Palmer with a simple question.
“How are we feeling?” he asked, assessing the readiness of his right-handed reliever.
“We’re in the last four games of the regular season,” Palmer replied. “We’ve got a week-and-a-half off after this. So, yeah, I’m good.”
Good enough, anyway. And that pretty much sums up the seventh-ranked Beavers’ 5-3 win over the Portland Pilots on Tuesday night at Goss Stadium. Oregon State was good enough.
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James DeCremer had a solid performance in his first-career start, Palmer was dominant out of the bullpen, AJ Singer had a three-hit game and the Beavers (38-12-1) walked their way to a sluggish win before 3,542 in Corvallis.
Canham stopped himself mid-sentence from saying his team didn’t play well, but it was clear he left Goss longing for more from a group that found itself in a dogfight with the Pilots (21-27) well into the late innings Tuesday night.
When Singer and Canon Reeder smacked back-to-back run-scoring singles in the bottom of the fifth inning, it gave the Beavers a 3-1 lead and control of the game. But Tyce Peterson struck out with the bases loaded to end the inning without further damage, and the Pilots immediately responded in the top half of the sixth, using a Riley McCarthy two-run single to tie the game 3-3.
After playing 18 of the previous 21 games on the road or in neutral-site parks, it looked like the travel-weary Beavers might fade from there. Instead, they gutted out a gritty win with a pair of seventh-inning runs.
Wilson Weber started the rally with a one-out triple off the left field wall and Singer kept things going with an infield single, putting runners on the corners. Two batters later, Reeder drew a walk to load the bases and it was a prelude of things to come. Peterson followed with an eight-pitch walk, bringing home the go-ahead run, and three pitches later, Pilots reliever Kaden Starr plunked Dallas Macias in the back with a 2-0 fastball, giving Oregon State a 5-3 edge.
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It proved to be enough for Palmer. The 6-foot-6 sophomore closed the game with 2 1/3 hitless innings, retiring all seven batters he faced on 27 pitches, to improve to 2-0 this season.
“I really liked what we all saw out of Palmer,” Canham said. “He’s just filling it up.”
The Beavers also saw a few nice things out of DeCremer.
The 6-2 redshirt freshman, who found out four hours before Tuesday’s first pitch that he would be making his first start, worked around a rough second inning to deliver a solid performance. He allowed one run on five hits and finished with three strikeouts in four innings, during which he threw 54 pitches, including 39 for strikes.
DeCremer was untouchable in the first inning, retiring the side in order on just seven pitches — all strikes — but had a bumpy second inning, giving up four hits and his only run. Portland cleanup hitter Zach Toglia led off the inning with a home run to left field, crushing a 2-1 pitch into the parking lot over the bullpen, and it seemed to momentarily rattle DeCremer. Cole Katayama-Stall followed with a single to right field, McCarthy ripped a double down the third base line, Henry Muench hit a pop-up to third base that Trent Caraway couldn’t handle, and, suddenly, the Pilots had the bases loaded with no outs.
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But DeCremer didn’t bat an eye.
He worked out of the jam on just six pitches, using a pair of flyouts and a strikeout to escape further damage, then tossed scoreless innings in the third and fourth. DeCremer lobbied to return for the fifth, but was overruled by pitching coach Rich Dorman.
“Of course, you always try,” he said, smiling, when asked if he tried to talk his way into another inning. “But you have, like, 20 guys in the pen that can all do a really good job. So it doesn’t matter. We won.”
Singer finished 3 for 5 with two RBIs, delivering run-scoring singles in the first and fifth innings, and Aiva Arquette went 2 for 5, as two of the Beavers’ most consistent hitters produced more than half of the the team’s nine hits.
It wasn’t the prettiest win, but it was a win nonetheless, moving the Beavers to the doorstep of their final series of the regular season.
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“We pulled it out, which is great,” Canham said. “But I still have extremely high expectations for what the guys need to do.”
Next up: The Beavers open a three-game series against the Long Beach State Dirtbags on Thursday night. First pitch is scheduled for 5:35.
— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | @freemanjoe.bsky.social | 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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