NEW YORK (AP) — Paul DeJong had the first multihomer game of his big league career, Luke Weaver held the Mets to one run in five innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat New York 5-1 on Sunday to avoid an opening three-game sweep. DeJong sent a fastball off the facing of the left-field second deck in the second inning, making him 3 for 3 with a pair of homers in his career against Steven Matz (0-1). DeJong hit his second solo homer in the eighth against Jacob Rhame. DeJong hit .285 with 25 home runs and 65 RBIs as a rookie last year, earning a $26 million, six-year contract.

Marcell Ozuna broke out of an 0-for-9 start with three hits, including an RBI double in the third and a run-scoring single in the fifth. Yadier Molina hit a leadoff homer in the fourth for the Cardinals, outscored 15-6 in the first two games. Weaver (1-0) last summer became the first Cardinals rookie to win seven straight starts since Ted Wilks in 1944. A rare starting pitcher with a single-digit uniform number (7), he struggled through a 27-pitch first inning in his first outing against the Mets and gave up Amed Rosario’s tying single in the second. The 24-year-old right-hander settled in and wound up allowing five hits, four of them singles.

After solid starts by Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom, Matz tried to put behind an injury-decimated sophomore season in which the lefty slumped to a 2-7 record. He struggled with his control and was up to 51 pitches after two innings and 73 after three. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs and four hits. New York has not opened 3-0 since 2012. The Mets kept up their terrible trend of last year, when they were 16-36 in series finales.

Up next for the Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas makes his first big league appearance since Aug. 25, 2014, when he starts Monday at Milwaukee. He spent the past three seasons with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan’s Central League. You can hear the game on KJAN beginning with the pregame show at 12:15-p.m., Monday. The first pitch is set for 1:10-p.m.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Kansas never found a way to slow Villanova’s record-setting 3-point barrage in the Final Four. The Wildcats made 18 of 40 3s, repeatedly getting open looks against a Jayhawks defense that couldn’t close out in time to seriously contest many of those open looks in Villanova’s 95-79 win in Saturday’s national semifinals.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Villanova made a Final Four-record 18 3-pointers, playing long ball to snuff out Kansas early in a 95-79 victory. Eric Paschall led the barrage, going 4 for 5 from 3 and finishing with 24 points for the Wildcats. Villanova shot 45 percent from 3. Next up is Michigan, which will try to guard the perimeter Monday night when Villanova (35-5) goes for its second title in three seasons.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Moe Wagner, Charles Matthews and Michigan erased a 10-point second-half deficit and the Wolverines ended Loyola-Chicago’s storybook NCAA Tournament run with a 69-57 victory night in the Final Four. The third-seeded Wolverines (33-7) will take a 14-game winning streak into their first national championship game appearance since 2013, and second under coach Jon Beilein.

NEW YORK (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes and Travis d’Arnaud homered, Todd Frazier drove in three runs and the New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2. Jacob DeGrom pitched effectively into the sixth inning and the Mets, under new manager Mickey Callaway, opened at 2-0 for the first time since 2013.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The national championship matchup between Villanova and Michigan. The Wildcats will play for their second title in three years. Two years after Jalen Brunson and coach Jay Wright’s Wildcats triumphed in Houston, they’ll be the favorites to do it again in the Lone Star State. Villanova beat Kansas while Michigan knocked out Loyola-Chicago

w/ Chris Parks

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The Nodaway Valley boys track team competed at the 2018 Winterset Husky Invitational on Friday and Brycen Wallace had a big day. Wallace won the 1600M Run in 4:43.90 and the 3200M Run with a time of 9:52.67.

The Wolverines came in 7th in the team standings.

Team Scores

1.  Carlisle 118
2. Nevada 116
3. Norwalk 105
4. Earlham 56
5. ADM 55
6. Winterset 41
7. Nodaway Valley 23
8. Woodward-Granger 22
9. Mount Ayr 21
10. Clarke 15.5
11. Greene County 11.5
12. Woodward Academy 5

Full results: 2018 Winterset Husky Invitational

The Council Bluffs City Relays were held on Thursday night at Gale Wickersham Stadium-Bob Nielsen Track in Council Bluffs. The Abraham Lincoln girls and St. Albert boys came away with city titles.

Girls Team Scoring

1. CB Abraham Lincoln 216
2. CB Thomas Jefferson 146
3. Lewis Central 132
4. CB St. Albert 66

Full results here.

Boys Team Scoring

1. CB St. Albert 197
2. Lewis Central 166
3. CB Thomas Jefferson 120.50
4. CB Abraham Lincoln 80.5
5. Heartland Christian 2

Full results here.

Girls Golf

Clarinda 216, Southwest Valley 276

Boys Golf

Southwest Valley 190, Clarinda 194

Boys Soccer

AHSTW 10, Nodaway Valley 0
Glenwood 10, Missouri Valley 0
Harlan 1, Treynor 0
Tri-Center 4, Panorama 0
Sioux City West 7, CB Thomas Jefferson 1

The 2018 Stanton Co-Ed Track Meet was hosted at Griswold on Thursday night. The Griswold boys and Sidney girls came away with team championships.

Girls Team Results

1. Sidney 112
2. Griswold 111
3. Stanton 105
4. East Mills 86
5. Essex 62
6. South Page 42
7. Clarinda Academy 10

Full results: 2018 Stanton COED Girls

Boys Team Results

1. Griswold 154
2. Sidney 139
3. Tri-Center 90
4. East Mills 81
5. Stanton 73
6. Essex 16
7. South Page 12

Full results: 2018 Stanton COED Boys

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field.

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes drove in three runs and newcomer Adrian Gonzalez hit a go-ahead double to lead Noah Syndergaard and the New York Mets past the St. Louis Cardinals 9-4 in their opener. Syndergaard struck out 10 and walked none in six innings after missing most of last season with a torn lat muscle.

NEW YORK (AP) — A person familiar with the deal says All-Star closer Greg Holland and the St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a $14 million, one-year contract. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was pending a physical and had not been announced.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Matt Davidson hit three homers and drove in five runs, Tim Anderson went deep twice and the Chicago White Sox routed the Kansas City Royals 14-7 on opening day. Jose Abreu also homered for the White Sox, who picked up right-hander James Shields after a shaky first inning. Danny Duffy took the loss for Kansas City, getting bounced after four innings.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals have placed All-Star catcher Salvador Perez, right-hander Nate Karns and two others on the disabled list as part of a series of roster moves ahead of their opener against the White Sox. Infielder Adalberto Mondesi and outfielder Bubba Starling also went on the DL while veteran pitcher Wily Peralta and top prospect Ryan Zimmer were designated for assignment.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Virginia’s Tony Bennett isn’t wavering from his foundation in the aftermath of the Cavaliers’ historic NCAA Tournament loss to UMBC. In an interview with The Associated Press, Bennett says his team’s body of work should be celebrated even as the players work to move past the sting of the season-ending loss. Bennett was named the AP men’s college basketball coach of the year Thursday after a 31-win season that included a dominating run through the Atlantic Coast Conference.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — NCAA leaders expect to receive recommendations for reforming college basketball in late April and have pledged to quickly implement changes while preserving amateurism as currently defined. NCAA President Mark Emmert said during his state of the association news conference ahead of the Final Four that the commission on college basketball, led by former Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice, will present its report to the Division I Board of Directors and Board of Governors on April 25.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Loyola-Chicago is determined to keep alive its unlikely NCAA Tournament run when the Ramblers play in the Final Four this weekend. The underdogs went through their first workout at the Alamodome in San Antonio on the same day as traditional powers Kansas, Villanova and Michigan. The teams and their legions of fans arrived in a city decked out in vibrant colors heading into the first two games this weekend.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Active big men give Final Four teams an advantage in era of positionless basketball. All four remaining teams rely on their big men to help space the floor for the variety of shooters on their rosters. They keep defenses honest, grab rebounds and protect the rim with all those smaller guys out there.