Oregon State Blanks Oregon In Rivalry Series Opener, Highlighting College Baseball Roundup

Image credit: Oregon State righthander Aiden May (Photo courtesy of Oregon State).

On an emotional night at Goss Stadium, Oregon State righthander Aiden May more than rose to the occasion against archrival Oregon.

In the opener of the final series between the two in-state rivals as conference foes, May delivered the best game of his career. He threw eight scoreless innings and held the Ducks to one hit, leading No. 13 Oregon State to a 2-0 victory against No. 18 Oregon.

May and closer Bridger Holmes, who threw a perfect ninth inning, combined for the one-hit shutout. It was the first time the Ducks had been shut out in more than a year and the first time they had been held to just one hit since May 10, 2022.

May struck out 14 batters and walked one. He held the Ducks hitless through the first four innings before Drew Smith hit a one-out single in the fifth. That would be their lone hit of the night, however, as their bats were silenced by May and Holmes.

May transferred to Oregon State from Arizona after last season and quickly emerged as the Beavers’ top starter, earning the nod on Opening Day. But it hasn’t been all smooth sailing this year, as he missed a month due to injury. And just a week ago, he gave up six runs on nine hits in five innings in a loss at California.

But on Friday night, May showed off just how good he can be. His fastball ran into the mid 90s and he mixed in a sharp slider. Oregon coach Mark Wasikowski asked for the umpires to check May for a foreign substance, but the check came back clean and only seemed to motivate the righthander, who struck out eight of the last 11 batters he faced. He is now 3-0, 3.63 with 45 strikeouts and 12 walks in 39.2 innings on the season.

Holmes, meanwhile, got three quick outs to end the game and earn his ninth save of the season. He is 2-3, 1.19 with 31 strikeouts and 10 walks in 22.2 innings.

Oregon State (32-9, 11-7) got its runs early, thanks to solo home runs from Brady Kasper and Travis Bazzana. Oregon righthander RJ Gordon (6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K) held them in check from there, but the Beavers had all the runs they needed. Bazzana’s home run was his 20th of the season and the All-American second baseman is now hitting .427/.584/.965 with 49 walks and 18 strikeouts. He is one home run shy of the program’s single-season record, which has stood since 1982.

The win was a big one on a number of levels for the Beavers. They needed a response this weekend after getting swept last week by California, especially with Arizona (26-14, 14-5) threatening to open up a significant gap in the Pac-12 standings.

This is also an emotional weekend in Corvallis because of what it represents in the rivalry. Oregon after this season will leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, leaving Oregon State behind. This year’s Beavers have said they aren’t using the fallout of conference realignment as motivation. But the 3,943 fans that on Friday night packed into Goss Stadium certainly made the rivalry’s stakes felt.

Perhaps most importantly, however, Friday night showed how good May and Oregon State can be. With him at his best, Oregon State can match up against any team in the country. Earlier this season, it was May that went toe-to-toe with Arkansas and Hagen Smith, when the All-American lefthander struck out 17 batters in Arlington, Texas. On Friday, he silenced the Ducks, who came into the game averaging 7.6 runs per game, second only to the Beavers in the Pac-12.

Oregon State has national championship aspirations. The Beavers have had some ups and downs this season, but on Friday, they looked like a team that can do damage in June.

Ace Watch

Friday night is for the aces. Here we highlight some of the best pitching performances of the day, in addition to May.

Bryce Cunningham, RHP, Vanderbilt: Cunningham threw a two-hit shutout to lead Vanderbilt to a 4-0 victory against Mississippi State. The junior struck out four batters and walked two. He retired the first 11 batters he faced before he gave up his first hit of the night. Cunningham improved to 6-2, 3.98 with 76 strikeouts and 21 walks in 61 innings this season.

Gage Jump, LHP, LSU: Jump held Auburn to two hits in seven scoreless innings to help LSU to a 5-0 victory at Alex Box Stadium. The junior struck out six batters and walked none, facing just two batters above the minimum. Jump has thrown 14 straight scoreless innings and is 4-1, 3.62 with 63 strikeouts and 16 walks in 49.2 innings on the season.

Justin Lehman, RHP, Army: Lehman threw a three-hit shutout in Army’s 1-0 victory against archrival Navy. He struck out eight batters and walked three to outduel tough-luck loser Tyler Grenn (8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 0 K). Lehman, a two-way player for the Black Knights, improved to 5-2, 1.39 with 39 strikeouts and 17 walks in 51.2 innings.

Michael Simes, RHP, UMass-Lowell: Simes threw a five-hit shutout to lead the River Hawks to a 2-0 victory against UMBC. The sophomore struck out four batters, walked none and hit one. Simes improved to 2-2, 4.63 on the season.

Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas: Smith was outstanding for Arkansas in a 2-1 victory against Florida. He held the Gators to one run (unearned) in seven innings, struck out 11 batters and scattered two hits and a walk. In one stretch, he retired 17 batters in a row. Smith is 8-0, 1.35 with 111 strikeouts and 23 walks in 60 innings this season.

Trey Yesavage, RHP, East Carolina: Yesavage fell one out shy of a seven-inning no-hitter, but helped ECU roll to a 14-0, run-rule shortened victory at Memphis. The junior carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning but a two-out single through the left side of the infield broke it up. With the game in hand and Yesavage having thrown 107 pitches, ECU went to the bullpen to get the final out. He struck out 12 batters and walked two in 6.2 innings. He is 9-1, 1.73 with 113 strikeouts and 21 walks in 67.2 innings.

Around The Horn

• No. 22 South Carolina rallied twice to upset No. 7 Kentucky, 6-5, in 10 innings. The score was deadlocked at 1 most of the game, as the teams traded runs in the third inning. In the top of the ninth, Kentucky (32-8, 15-4) broke through for three runs using three bunts. But the Gamecocks roared back to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth thanks to three solo home runs. The Wildcats again pushed ahead in the 10th on a two-out single from Nick Lopez, but the Gamecocks walked it off on a two-run home run from Blake Jackson. It was his second home run in as many innings, as he started the ninth-inning rally with a homer. It was a big win for South Carolina (28-13, 10-9), which is aiming to secure a home regional.
• No. 6 Florida State edged past No. 5 Duke, 4-2, to open a key ACC series in Durham. The Seminoles (33-8, 12-7) scored four runs in the first inning against lefthander Jonathan Santucci (6 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 6 K), with three of them coming on a home run by Jaime Ferrer. That proved to be enough, as lefthanders Jamie Arnold (5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K), Brennen Oxford (3.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K) and Connor Hults (.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K) combined to hold the Blue Devils (29-13, 13-9) in check.
• No. 4 Clemson engineered another big comeback to win, 12-11, at Louisville. The Tigers (33-8, 14-5) trailed 11-4 after the Cardinals scored 10 runs in the fourth inning, but they chipped away at the lead and scored four runs in the ninth inning, including two runs with two outs, to push into the lead. Righthander Matthew Marchal threw four scoreless innings in relief to give the offense a chance to mount the comeback, which was its 19th such win this season.
• No. 16 Oklahoma defeated Texas, 9-4, to open the Red River Rivalry in Norman. Lefthander Braden Davis (6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 9 K) delivered a quality start for the Sooners, who didn’t trail all night. Kendall Pettis went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI to lead the offense, while Anthony McKenzie (2-for-4, 2 R) and Jaxon Willits (2-for-4) both added home runs.
• No. 25 Louisiana edged Southern Miss, 3-2, in a thriller at Russo Park. The Golden Eagles jumped on top early thanks to a two-run, first-inning home run from Slade Wilks. But in the eighth inning, Kyle DeBarge hit a three-run home run that proved to be the game winner. Lefthander Andrew Herrmann (8 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 K) just outdueled righthander Billy Oldham (7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 10 K) and righthander LP Langevin threw a perfect ninth for his sixth save of the season. The Ragin’ Cajuns (32-12, 16-3) now have a four-game lead in the Sun Belt standings.