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JOSIELEPE—BAYAREANEWSGROUPFILE San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto threw six innings and over 90pitches against the Kansas City Royals in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Friday. ByRickEymer The Associated Press SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. Johnny Cueto pitched six innings and singled against his former team and Bran- don Belt hit a three-run homer as the San Francisco Giants beat the Kan- sas City Royals 8-5 on Friday. Conor Gillaspie also homered, De- nard Span drove in a pair of runs and catching prospect Trevor Brown added a run-scoring double. Travis Snider and Cory Decker each hit a two-run homer and Paulo Orlando drove in a run for the Roy- als. Omar Infante went 3 for 4 and scored twice. Ian Kennedy allowed five runs on six hits in his four innings. He walked a pair and struck out six. Giants reliever Sergio Romo struck out the side in the ninth. StartingTime Giants: Cueto said he's ready to start the regular season after throw- ing over 90 pitches, using everything in his repertoire. "Everything was working and I felt comfortable," Cueto said. "My objec- tive was to get my work done and try to throw to the inside when I want and to the outside when I want." Cueto led off the third inning with a single to right field and had to hus- tle to beat a throw by Paulo Orlando. They exchanged a few light-hearted words afterward. "I had to run hard or get thrown out," he said. "I don't like hitting that much, but I do like moving the run- ner up." Cueto enjoyed going up against his old teammates, too. "It's always great to face old friends," Cueto said. "But that's base- ball; one year you're on a team and the next year you're with another team." Trainer's Room Giants: C Andrew Susac (tendini- tis in right hand) has not appeared in a spring game for over a week, al- though he has been playing in minor league games. SPRING TRAINING Cuetogoes6asGiantswin NewGiantalsosingles against his former team in victory against Royals By Teresa M. Walker The Associated Press LOUISVILLE, KY. Losing in the NCAA Tournament is downright painful. Several teams still in the hunt for the title are using the unpleasant memories of the past as good lessons that have helped them move into the Elite Eight. The Villanova Wildcats know the misery well. They lost their second game each of the past two tournaments, while their se- niors were around for an open- ing loss in 2013. Rather than letting those memories haunt them, the Wildcats adjusted and reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 2009. "What you're seeing is a team that's learned a lot from those games and that is experience," Villanova coach Jay Wright said Thursday night after a 92-69 rout of No. 3 seed Miami in the South Region semifinal. "They've been there twice. They've lost. They don't fear it. They don't fear losing in the sec- ond round, they don't fear los- ing in the Sweet 16. They just are driven to advance," he said. "And I think having no fear is what we're seeing." Other teams are making a similar play: Oklahoma also is in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2009 after early exits each of the past three seasons, while Kan- sas hadn't gotten to a regional final since 2012. Oregon hasn't played past the opening weekend since 2013, and now the Ducks are a game away from their first Final Four since 1939. "We went through those early exits," Villanova junior guard Josh Hart said. "We went through that heartache, and it was tough. But we learned from it. ... We're just using that as mo- mentum, using that experience to get us through these games." All four advanced Thursday night with pretty impressive performances, too. NOVA SHOOTING The Wildcats lost to North Carolina State in 2015 and Connecticut in 2014 in their second NCAA games. In 2013, it was an opening loss to North Carolina. Villanova came into this tournament hav- ing spent three weeks as the na- tion's top-ranked team for the first time in program history. Now the Wildcats are showing just how good they might be, shooting better in each of their first three games. CHALK IT UP JAYHAWK As the top of the No. 1 seeds, Kansas was expected to reach Saturday night's South Region final. The Jayhawks know only too well ex- pectations and seedings mean little in this tournament after losing to Wichita State in their second game last year and to Stanford in 2014. Reaching the Sweet 16 proved no help in 2013 with a loss to Michigan. ORE-NOT GONE YET So much has been made of Oregon's No. 1 seed in the West, and the Ducks lost to Wisconsin each of the past two tournaments. They lost to Louisville in their last re- gional semifinal in 2013. MEN'S NCAA TOURNAMENT PAINFUL MEMORIES USED FOR LESSONS 1st teams to make it into Elite 8 have lost in recent seasons TIMOTHY D. EASLEY — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Villanova guard Jalen Brunson (1) looks for help as Miami guard Angel Rodriguez (13) defends during the first half of the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday. The Associated Press MESA,ARIZ. Right-handerJered Weaver returned to the mound after missing about two weeks with a neck injury to throw five solid innings and Mike Trout homered in his second straight game as the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Oakland Athletics 11-3 on Friday. Weaver, whose injury was diagnosed as degenerative changes in the cervical spine, gave up three earned runs on five hits and struck out two in his third start. He gave up a home run to Bruce Maxwell for Oakland's first run in the third inning and a solo homer to Coco Crisp in the fifth. Trout, batting third, hit the first pitch from left-hander Sean Manaea over the fence in right- center field. Trout also had a run-scoring single in the fourth and stole a base. "He (Trout) never swings at the first pitch, but he took him deep," A's manager Bob Melvin said. Starting Time A's: Manaea, making his third start in five spring appearances, is getting a good look from the team this spring. In four innings against the Angels, he gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits, walked two and struck out one. "He struggled with his slider, but overall, I thought he had good stuff," Melvin said. "We like what we see." Trainer's Room A's: Reliever R.J. Alvarez has bone chips in his right elbow and will have surgery to remove them next week. He was 0-1 in four appearances this spring. SPRING TRAINING Weaver back on mound in Angels' win over A's By Ben Walker The Associated Press As a boy, he watched his be- loved team play the very first World Series game at Wrigley Field. A few Octobers later, he was there to see Babe Ruth call his shot. A lot changed over the years — a job in a different field, on an- other kind of bench — but retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens never lost faith in the Chi- cago Cubs. Now 95 and older than the ivy at the Friendly Confines, Stevens offers an opinion on their title drought dating to 1908. "I don't think it's a question of whether they'll win a champi- onship," he told The Associated Press. "It's whether I'll still be here to see it." "They are close," he said. "Will it happen soon enough?" So let's begin right there as Ma- jor League Baseball gets loosened up for opening day. Ace pitchers Zack Greinke, Da- vid Price and Johnny Cueto start fresh with new teams. Red Sox slugger David Ortiz and Dodg- ers broadcaster Vin Scully are on deck for fond farewells. Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Car- los Correa, Nolan Arenado and Noah Syndergaard are among the young, bright stars all over the di- amond. Barry Bonds is back in play, as the hitting coach for the Miami Marlins. Dusty Baker is back in the dugout, managing the Wash- ington Nationals. A year after the Cubs, Hous- ton, Toronto and Texas took huge strides to make the playoffs, fans are wondering who's next. AL Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel saw what hap- pened with the Astros. His first full year was 2013 and they lost 111 games. "It's a progression," the lefty said. "You get better individu- ally, and you get better as a team." MLB has made changes, too, on and off the field. There's the Chase Utley Rule that outlaws certain vicious take- out slides. But the old "neighbor- hood play" at second base is now reviewable, and many wonder whether that will put middle in- fielders in peril. Some ballparks added extra netting to protect fans from foul balls that rocket into the seats. One of them is Kauffman Sta- dium, where the Kansas City Royals host the New York Mets on April 3, a tasty Series rematch on opening night. The next day, Atlanta starts its 20th and final season at Turner Field before moving to the sub- urbs. So, how will things shake out? San Francisco hopes its odd- even pattern holds after winning titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. The Giants missed the playoffs last year, then got starters Jeff Sa- mardzija and Cueto and outfielder Denard Span. "This is as solid as I think we've been, and that's saying a lot," manager Bruce Bochy said. BASEBALL 2016 Age-old question: Can Cubs win it all? SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, March 26, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1