ST. LOUIS (AP) – Barry Zito pitched the San Francisco Giants back into the NL championship series, dominating into the eighth inning of a 5-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night that narrowed their deficit to 3-2.

The defending champion Cardinals might have thrown away a chance to clinch a second straight World Series trip. Pitcher Lance Lynn’s toss on a possible forceout deflected off the second-base bag, paving the way for the Giants’ four-run fourth.

Pablo Sandoval homered for the second straight night and Zito made an extremely rare offensive contribution with a perfectly executed bunt for an RBI single.

Game 6 will be in San Francisco on Sunday, with Ryan Vogelson pitching for the Giants against Chris Carpenter.

Class 3-A District 1  
*Glenwood (2-6, 0-5) @ Atlantic (5-3, 2-3)
*ADM (6-2, 4-1) @ Harlan (7-1, 4-1)
*Lewis Central (6-2, 3-2) @ Creston (7-1, 4-1)
Perry (2-6) @ Saydel (0-9)

Class 3-A District 2
*LeMars (6-2, 4-1) @ Carroll (3-5, 3-2)
*Denison (1-7, 1-4) @ Sergeant Bluff-Luton (0-8, 0-5)

Class 2-A District 8 
*Kuemper Catholic (8-0, 5-0) @ Clarinda (1-7, 1-4)
*OA-BCIG (5-3, 4-1) @ Greene County (4-4, 3-2)
*Shenandoah (4-4, 3-2) @ Red Oak (2-6, 2-3)
Clarinda Academy (0-8) @ Nodaway Valley (1-7)

Class 1-A District 2
*Ridge View (4-4, 3-2) @ IKM/Manning (8-0, 5-0)

Class 1-A District 8 
*St. Albert (7-1, 5-0) @ Missouri Valley (2-6, 1-4)
*Treynor (4-4, 1-4) @ Panorama (5-3, 3-2)
*Tri-Center (6-2, 4-1) @ West Central Valley (4-4, 3-2)

Class A District 7
*Earlham (1-7, 1-5) @ Audubon (4-4, 3-3)
*Woodward-Granger (8-0, 6-0) @ Bedford (4-4, 4-2)
*Madrid (5-3, 4-2) @ Guthrie Center (2-6, 2-4)
*Martensdale-St. Marys (3-5, 1-5) @ Woodward Academy (3-5, 3-3)

Class A District 8    
*Underwood (4-4, 4-2) @ A-H-S-T (5-3, 4-2)
*East Mills (3-5, 2-4) @ West Monona    (0-8, 0-6)
*Logan-Magnolia (7-1, 6-0) @ Griswold (6-2, 5-1)
*Westwood (2-6, 2-4) @ Riverside (2-6, 1-5)

8-Man District 6 
*Ankeny Christian (1-8, 0-6) @ Mormon Trail (1-7, 0-6)
*Lamoni (7-2, 4-2) @ Murray (8-0, 6-0)
*Grandview Park Baptist (3-5, 2-4) @ East Union (3-6, 2-4)
Coon Rapids-Bayard (6-3) @ Adair-Casey (7-1)

8-Man District 7  
*Exira/EHK (8-0, 7-0) @ Heartland Christian (0-9, 0-7)
*Glidden-Ralston (6-2, 6-1) @ Ar-We-Va (2-6, 2-5)
*Boyer Valley (5-3, 4-3) @ West Harrison (4-4, 3-4)
*Charter Oak-Ute (2-6, 1-6) @ Woodbine (4-4, 4-3)

8-Man District 8
*CAM (7-2, 6-1) @ Sidney (8-0, 7-0)    —on KJAN & KJAN.com—
*Fremont-Mills (7-1, 6-1) @ Lenox (6-2, 5-2)
*Villisca (1-7, 1-6) @ Essex (4-5, 2-5)
*Stanton (1-7, 1-6) @ Nishnabotna (1-7, 1-6)
Corning (3-5) @ Wayne (6-2)

*District Game

(2-1) Sergeant Bluff-Luton 19-21-15, Abraham Lincoln 21-18-13
(2-0) Sergeant Bluff-Luton 21-21, Thomas Jefferson 13-16
(2-0) Sioux City East 21-21, Thomas Jefferson 12-14

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) – For Oklahoma State, this Saturday’s game against Iowa State is about more than avenging the only loss from a historic 2011 season. It also dredges up the memories of a sad, sometimes spooky, experience surrounding the 37-31 defeat last November. The Cowboys were 10-0 and two wins from playing for the national championship when they went to Iowa State last season, learning on game day that women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke and three others had been killed in a plane crash.

Ex-defensive end Richetti Jones described an eerie bus ride down a dark road to the stadium when “all you can think about is death.” It only complicated matters when one of the three team buses broke down.  The circumstances are far different this season as the Cowboys (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) and Cyclones (4-2, 1-2) slug it out for position in the middle of the conference standings.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – In what will come as a huge relief to worried, frustrated, restive and angry Kansas City fans, Dustin Colquitt sounds like he has no desire to leave the Chiefs. If Colquitt does sign a new contract, it also will be one less criticism that embattled general manager Scott Pioli has to dodge.

Colquitt has become a deadeye master of directional punting, providing the Chiefs with hundreds of yards of valuable field position. He’s clearly one of the finest punters in the NFL as well as one of the finest players, period, on an underachieving Chiefs roster. Freed of nagging injuries, the 30-year-old Colquitt is enjoying perhaps his best season, even though the 1-5 Chiefs skidded into their bye week on the heels of one of their worst stretches in decades.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — One criticism being lobbed at Kansas City general manager Scott Pioli is that he still has not come to contract terms with punter Dustin Colquitt. Colquitt is one of the best punters in the NFL and one of Kansas City’s best players. He says he has no plans to leave Kansas City even, though he could be an unrestricted free agent in 2013. He says there’s no friction between him and Pioli, and that he also has a strong personal relationship with owner Clark Hunt. He indicated contract talks are under way.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright threw seven innings of four-hit ball and the St. Louis Cardinals roughed up Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants in an 8-3 rout Thursday night that gave them a 3-1 lead in the NL championship series. Matt Holliday, Jon Jay and Yadier Molina had two RBIs apiece to lead a 12-hit outburst by a team that batted just .198 through the first three games of the series. The defending champion Cardinals can wrap up their second straight trip to the World Series as a wild card with a victory at home Friday night in Game 5. Lance Lynn faces Giants lefty Barry Zito. Lincecum was a bust in his first postseason start since the World Series clincher over Texas in 2010, giving up four runs in 4 2-3 innings.