DANBURY, Conn. --  Freshman Preston Irby (Bridgeport) became the first player in Eastern Connecticut State University baseball history to hit a grand slam in his first plate appearance as the Warriors unleashed a 16-hit attack in a 23-7 non-conference win over Western Connecticut State University Tuesday afternoon at Westside Field.
 
Pinch-hitting in the No. 9 slot with one out and one run in in the seventh, Irby homered to left off sophomore righty Sam Capetanakis in his first at-bat in an Eastern uniform, plating Dean Slavin (Tappan, NY), Benjamin Ryan (Springfield, MA) and Kevin Murphy (Springfield, MA).  Sophomore Thomas Acevedo (Miami) had led off the inning with a home run to left, Slavin was hit by a pitch, Ryan reached on an infield error, and Murphy walked to load the bases to set the stage for Irby's record home run.
 
Eastern (19-2) had entered the game having equaled its second-best start after 20 games in program history and was rated first in New England and 23^rd nationally.
 
Irby's grand slam followed a second-inning grand slam by Holden White (Wallingford), giving the Warriors two grand slams in a game for the first time in program history.
 
Four Western (1-7) pitchers allowed six extra-base hits, walked 17 batters and hit three. Nine of the Eastern batters who walked or were hit by pitch came around to score.
 
In addition to White and Irby's four-RBI game, senior Jack Rich (Meriden) plated three runs with two doubles and a single, Slavin drove in two with a sixth-inning single, and junior Owen Marica (Haddam) contributed a two-run single in the fourth.
 
Freshman leadoff hitter Jason Claiborn (Prospect) reached safely in his 18^th straight game by singling, doubling and walking three times and scoring three times, and senior captain John Mesagno (Tappan, NY) hit safely in his 11^th straight with an RBI single in a seven-run second inning. The sixth of seven Eastern pitchers, senior pitcher/DH Drew Alexopoulos (Hanson, MA) had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run.
 
Eastern hosts No. 22 nationally-ranked University of Southern Maine Friday in a 1 p.m. Little East Conference doubleheader at the Eastern Baseball Stadium before travelling to face the Huskies in a Saturday non-conference doubleheader at noon. USM is 6-3 in the LEC, 14-6 overall. Eastern has won five straight, USM four.