One hit.

That’s all the No. 22 Ducks could muster in the opener of the biggest series of their season to date.

One hit.

All of the excitement and hype and talk about Oregon (28-13, 11-8 Pac-12) possibly repeating as conference champions.

All of it temporarily silenced as No. 9 Oregon State (32-9, 11-7 Pac-12) limited Oregon to one hit on Friday night in Corvallis.

But still, it’s one game. There’s still a golden opportunity for the Ducks to snag a crucial series win. But offensively, nothing can reflect Friday’s performance. 

There wasn’t much no-hitter drama in the works in Corvallis. Drew Smith collected the Ducks’ only hit in the fifth frame. It was a single, and he would leave the inning stuck at second.

The fifth was the only instance where Oregon State starter Aiden May looked even remotely vulnerable. Across his eight complete innings, he fanned 14 while only walking one and throwing 114 pitches — 83 for strikes. He was dominant, incredible and unwavering. May was everything a team could want and more from a Friday starter. 

Oregon’s guy was pretty darn good too, he just had no support behind him. RJ Gordon went six innings while allowing just two runs on four hits to one of the best offenses in the country. He fanned nine and only walked two. 

But, the two runs he surrendered would be the difference. A pair of Beaver home runs — one off the bat of Brady Kasper  in the second and another from Travis Bazzana in the third — gave May all the run support he needed to demonstrate his dominance. 

Bazzana’s 20th homer of the season leads the Pac-12 by a considerable margin, as does his .427 average. 

After Gordon, Bradley Mullan tallied two solid innings of relife. Across his two frames, he allowed just one baserunner — Gavin Turley on a double.

But May was the story.

Of his eight innings, four of them went 1-2-3. The Ducks’ offense had no answers for May. It did, however, collect strikeout after strikeout. Five Oregon batters recorded more than one K with Carter Garate leading the charge with three. 

Oregon’s offensive struggles had been a theme in some Pac-12 series this season. On Friday, they burnt a terrific effort from the Ducks’ pitching staff. 

Bridger Holmes pitched the ninth inning for the Beavers and earned his ninth save of the season — which sits second in the conference. 

Oregon has two more shots at the Beavers this weekend, and needs to win at least one to stay in contention for one of the conference’s top spots.