After a third consecutive elimination-game victory, the Gophers will play Ohio State again Sunday morning for a berth in the Big Ten baseball tournament championship in Omaha.

The Gophers (29-26) dealt Ohio State (33-25) its first loss of the double-elimination tournament Saturday afternoon, winning 9-6 and forcing a second game at TD Ameritrade Park. The teams were scheduled to play again Saturday night, but the game was pushed back to Sunday morning when the second Nebraska-Michigan game ran long.

Nebraska (31-21) won that game 7-3 and will play the winner of Sunday's first game for the Big Ten title. The Cornhuskers got a second chance at Michigan after losing to the Wolverines (41-18) 18-8 earlier in the day.

Gophers ace Max Meyer, who missed two weeks because of an ankle injury, threw 5 ⅔ shutout innings Saturday vs. Ohio State. He gave up three hits, struck out seven and did not walk a batter. He lowered his ERA to 2.11.

Eduardo Estrada Jr. homered twice for the Gophers.

Ali wins steeplechase

Defending NCAA and Big Ten champion Obsa Ali earned a return trip to the national meet with a first place in the steeplechase Saturday at the NCAA West Preliminary track and field meet in Sacramento, Calif.

Ali won in 8 minutes, 34.16 seconds, while teammate Alec Basten qualified for the NCAA meet for the first time with a personal-best 8:34.50. Two Gophers women advanced. Amira Young tied the school record with an 11.37 in the 100 meters, good for 11th place, and Rachel Schow placed 12th in the 400-meter hurdles in 57.47.

Johnnies' relay wins title

The St. John's 4x100-meter relay won the national championship and Johnnies sophomore Ryan Miller finished second in the 100-meter dash at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Geneva, Ohio. SJU (18 points) tied for 11th overall. Nick Gannon, Drew Schoenbauer, Brady Labine and Miller won with a time of 40.92 seconds, .05 ahead of the runner-up. Miller's time in the 100 was 10.22.

In other MIAC performances at nationals:

• St. Olaf's Sean Lonergan was fifth in the 1,500 meters in 3:51.07. He was 19th a sophomore last spring.

• Bethel's Carl Klamm was second in the 400 (46.58) and anchored the 1,600-meter relay to sixth place.

• Hamline's Eric Dols placed fourth in the hammer with a throw of 199-6¼, his eighth All-America honor, and Pipers senior Gabrielle Brown was fifth in the 100 hurdles in a school-record 14.06.

Augustana falls in baseball

Defending NCAA champion Augustana lost at home to No. 2 seed Central Missouri State 5-2 in a Division II baseball super regional, finishing the season 43-16.