AKRON, Ohio ? Ben Crabtree (Roxbury, Conn.) recorded a hit in each of his first four at-bats to tie Ohio?s all-time record and Anthony Gressick (Lancaster, Ohio) threw a complete game shutout as the Ohio baseball squad broke open a scoreless tie with three runs in the sixth and went on to earn a 5-0 victory over Akron in the second game of a Mid-American Conference series Saturday afternoon at Lee Jackson Field.

Gressick threw the second complete game in his last four starts for the Bobcats (25-24-1, 9-9-1 MAC) and held the Zips in check throughout, facing just 36 batters and allowing only four hits. Akron (23-27, 10-8 MAC) starter Tom Farmer equaled Gressick through the first five innings, but the Ohio bats rattled in the sixth and seventh innings for four runs on the right hander to take control of the game.

?I am are really proud of the team because they responded well today,? said Ohio Head Coach Joe Carbone in reference to the Bobcats being eliminated from postseason play on Friday. ?They came out very professional and ready to play.?

A single by Dusty Hammond (Bellefontaine, Ohio) to lead off the sixth got things going for the Bobcats. Hammond advanced to second on a passed ball. Then, with one out, Crabtree singled down the right field line for his third hit in as many at-bats to bring home Hammond for the game?s first run. Gressick then helped his own cause by doubling to right-center field to plate Crabtree and he advanced to third on the throw to the plate. Then, with Jon Vondrell (Centerville, Ohio) up, Gressick scored on another passed ball to put Ohio out in front 3-0.

Gressick needed just eight pitches to retire the side in the home half of the sixth and the Bobcat offense picked up right where they left off on Farmer an inning before, again aided by fielding mistakes from Akron. With Bryant Witt (Powell, Ohio) on second and one out, Bryan Buck (Hudson, Ohio) reached on an error by Farmer to put runners at the corners. Hammond then drove a grounder to short to bring home Witt for a 4-0 advantage.

A fifth and final run came in the Bobcats? final at-bat as Witt scored on a sacrifice fly by Brian Colopy (Columbus, Ohio).

In one of the more dominating performances this season, Gressick (3-3) struck out six and walked five to record the first shutout of his career. He came into the start ranked second in the MAC with a 2.20 ERA in league games in 2005.

Crabtree now needs just one more hit to stand alone as Ohio?s all-time leader. His 4-for-4 performance Saturday put him in a tie with Ryan Kyes at 268, set in 2001. The catcher singled through the right side to lead off the second, singled to right in the fourth, registered the RBI hit in the sixth, and led off the eighth with a single to center field. Crabtree came up for a fifth time and a chance to break the record, but grounded out in the top of the ninth.

?Anthony (Gressick) pitched a great game for us today and Ben (Crabtree) just kept hitting the ball,? Carbone said. ?They really gave us a good chance to get a victory.?

Farmer (3-3) allowed four runs ? two earned ? on eight hits over seven innings to take the loss. No Akron batter recorded more than one hit.

Despite the loss, Akron was able to clinch the sixth and final MAC Tournament berth on Saturday with Miami defeating Kent State.

The rubber game of the series, and the final contest for Ohio in 2005, will get underway at 1 p.m., Sunday.