The Gophers split a baseball doubleheader with Ohio State on Thursday at Target Field and in the process clinched a berth in next week's Big Ten tournament in Columbus, Ohio.

In the opener, pinch hitter Troy Larson's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth gave the Gophers a 3-2 victory.

Ohio State won the nightcap 5-1. Nick O'Shea homered for the Gophers in the first game and drove in their lone run in the second.

With that victory, and losses by Indiana and Northwestern, the Gophers secured a top-six finish in the Big Ten, the cutoff to make the tournament.

Etc. • Freshman winger Max Gardiner of Minnetonka is leaving the Gophers hockey program to play junior hockey. He had one goal and two assists in 17 games last season playing on the third or fourth line. Dubuque drafted Gardiner in the fifth round of the USHL draft on Monday, and Fighting Saints General Manager and coach Jim Montgomery openly expressed hope Gardiner would join the team.

• Gophers basketball forward Dominique Dawson, a walk-on who played high school basketball for Minneapolis Southwest, will transfer to Kentucky Wesleyan College, according to a statement released by the Gophers. Dawson played in 10 games last season.

• The Gophers moved up seven places into a tie for 11th in the NCAA women's golf championships in Tyler, Texas.

Teresa Puga and Samatha Sommers each shot even-par 72s and are tied for 30th halfway through the 54-hole tournament. Michele Edlin is tied for 24th after shooting a 75 on Thursday. Mary Narzisi shot 75, and Jackie Shepherd had an 80.

• Donald Constable shot an even-par 72 and Erik Van Rooyen had an 8-over 80 for the Gophers in the first round of the NCAA West-San Diego Regional in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Constable, a senior, is tied for 16th.