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Will McEntire’s first career start was about as efficient as the Razorbacks could have hoped Tuesday night.

The freshman right-hander needed only 68 pitches to get through six innings and help Arkansas win its third straight game, 6-1 over Grand Canyon at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Although the Bryant native had just three strikeouts, he also didn’t issue any walks. That was the result of excellent command, with 15 first-pitch strikes to 22 batters, just three counts with two or more balls and an ability to induce ground balls or fly outs.

“If you throw strikes and get ahead in the count and you play a little defense, you’ve got a really good chance to be in every game,” head coach Dave Van Horn said. “That’s what he did. He threw a lot of strikes and pitched backwards a little bit and threw his fastball when he needed to, a lot of cutters and mixed in a few breaking balls.”

The Razorbacks’ defense was also a key contributor to McEntire’s performance, as it made a few great plays to keep the freshman confident in his first start.

After striking out the first batter he faced, McEntire gave up a single to Juan Colato. He was erased by the arm of catcher Casey Opitz, who threw him out trying to steal second.

Opitz is considered one of the best defensive catchers in college baseball and was just named to the Buster Posey Catcher of the Year watch list, but Van Horn also gave McEntire a lot of credit for being quick to the plate.

The very next inning, the Antelopes notched back-to-back singles against McEntire, only for Dominic Grissom to be thrown out by center fielder Christian Franklin trying to go first to third on the second hit.

The plays by Opitz and Franklin ended the first two innings.

“Any time the defense makes a great play for you, the momentum goes to your dugout,” McEntire said. “So as soon as those two plays happened, I knew I was going to have a good night because that momentum got on my side.”

McEntire’s only mistake came in the third inning when he gave up a solo home run to David Avitia, Grand Canyon’s 8-hole hitter. It was a massive shot that cleared the seats behind the Razorbacks’ bullpen in left field, but it proved to be the Antelopes’ only run of the game as the freshman did a good job of scattering seven hits.

In fact, the right-hander bounced back by retiring the next three batters in order. Shaking off the homer was a skill he learned from facing his own potent lineup during fall and spring scrimmages.

“Heston (Kjerstad) did a good job on that,” McEntire said. “I think he hit four off me, so that’s nothing new trying to shake off a home run and go on to the next batter.”

It also helped that McEntire pitched two innings against South Alabama on Saturday, when he retired all six batters he faced with only 19 pitches. That helped settle his nerves ahead of the start.

“That was big time, actually, to get my first experience Saturday,” McEntire said. “It kind of helped me calm down on the mound.”

The freshman looked like a veteran on the mound and it likely won’t be his last start. Arkansas could pitch him again as soon as Sunday out of the bullpen against Mississippi State, or save him for next Tuesday at Oklahoma, Van Horn said.

With some of their older pitchers struggling, it was an encouraging sight for the Razorbacks, who will use Wednesday’s game as an opportunity to throw several arms.

First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. and the game will be streamed on SEC Network-Plus, meaning it can be watched online on ESPN3.com or on the WatchESPN app.