ATHENS, Ohio ? Anthony Gressick (Lancaster, Ohio) allowed just two hits and struck out 15 over 8 1/3 innings and a Ben Crabtree (Roxbury, Conn.) solo home run in the eighth broke a 1-1 tie and sent Ohio to its eighth-straight win, 2-1, over Eastern Michigan Saturday in Mid-American Conference action at Bob Wren Stadium.

Tied at one in the bottom of the eighth, Crabtree sent George Biddle?s 1-0 offering deep and over the wall in right center to lead off the inning and give Ohio (11-12, 4-2 MAC) its first lead of the ballgame.

That was all the help Gressick (1-1) would need, as he cruised through eight and a third, allowing an unearned run in the first and zeros across the board from there on out. Gressick was bumped up a day in the rotation to replace usual Saturday-starter Rob Harmon (Villa Hills, Ky.), who sustained an injury before Friday?s contest. The switch wasn?t a factor, however, as his 15 K?s set a new career-high, breaking the seven-strikeout performance he showed in his freshman season against Eastern Michigan.

?Anthony really went out and did the job for us,? said Ohio head coach Joe Carbone. ?He had good stuff tonight and it takes a special guy to be able to hit and pitch, turning it on and turning it off like that.?

Yale Silverman (Baton Rouge, La.) entered with an out in the ninth and shut the door, striking out the game?s final hitter on a dramatic 3-2 pitch to earn his second save and secure Ohio?s second win of the series.

?Yale came in and did a good job against their left-handers with his sidearm delivery,? Carbone said.

After being held scoreless for the first six innings on Friday, Eastern Michigan (9-20, 1-4 MAC) plated a run in the first inning on Saturday. Leadoff hitter Jeff Davis reached and advanced to second on a throwing error in the Bobcat infield. Davis went to third on a groundout one batter later and would score the game?s first run on a Matt Moffett ground ball to second, giving the Eagles a quick 1-0 lead.

The Eagles posed a threat in the third, but Gressick stalled the effort all by himself. A leadoff double and steal of third by nine-hitter Trumaine Riley went to waste as Gressick struck out the next three hitters and got out of the inning unscathed.

The Ohio bats created a threat of their own in third, but, like Eastern Michigan?s, the effort was to no avail. A pair of singles with one out gave Ohio its first runner in scoring position of the day, but the runners would not cross the plate as a fielder?s choice and a fly out ended the inning.

In the fifth, though, Ohio broke through. With two outs, two strikes and runners on first and second, Brian Colopy (Columbus, Ohio) singled sharply through the right side and plated Ohio?s first run of the day, tying the score through five.

The game stay knotted at one until Crabtree?s eighth-inning heroics.

?We?ve really come together and stayed focused,? Carbone said. ?We have to give Eastern Michigan credit. I thought Dimich (Friday?s starter) and Biddle did a great job, but we hung in there, hung tough.?

Biddle (3-4) was the hard-luck loser for the Eagles, going the distance and allowing just seven hits.

For the second-straight night, Phil Sabatini (Oakmont, Pa.) was Ohio?s only player to record multiple base hits as he finished the day 2-for-3 in the leadoff spot. Bryant Witt (Powell, Ohio) picked up a base hit in the sixth, bringing his hit streak to 11 games.

The series will conclude with a Sunday afternoon matinee. The Eagles are scheduled to throw Will Stewardson (0-3), while Ohio will counter with Dan O?Rourke (Monongahela, Pa.) (1-1). First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at Bob Wren Stadium.