FAYETTEVILLE -- Chloe Barber did not bring glowing statistics into Friday's matchup against No. 14 Arkansas, but the Wichita State pitcher had impressive numbers by the end of the game.
Barber, a right-hander, struck out 15 batters and limited the Razorbacks to 5 hits in a 3-1 win at Bogle Park in the Razorback Invitational.
Barber (2-0), who had a 4.67 ERA entering the game, started strong with three strikeouts in the first inning and ended strong with back-to-back strikeouts of Arkansas' three- and four-spot hitters to close out the complete-game win.
"She was doing a really good job as rise-ball pitchers do," Arkansas Coach Courtney Deifel said of Barber's performance. "We were stretching our [strike] zone too much, and when you start worrying about stretching the zone, you miss the hitable pitches. She just really controlled us all night."
With the loss, Arkansas split Friday's doubleheader, having beaten Texas-Arlington 9-0 in six innings earlier in the day.
Wichita State (5-2) took it to the Razorbacks in the second inning to grab an early 2-0 lead against Arkansas starter Robyn Herron (3-3). The Shockers loaded the bases for leadoff hitter C.C. Wong, who lofted an 0-2, two-RBI single into center.
Arkansas (9-3) had chances against Barber in the third and fourth innings but only produced one run, which came in the third when Reagan Johnson scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch.
The Razorbacks loaded the bases again in the fourth inning with one out but could not produce a run.
"Obviously you want to score every time you get runners in scoring position, but you're not going to," Deifel said. "I don't know if we were pressing. I don't know if [Arkansas batters] ever felt comfortable tonight. [Barber] just did that well at keeping us off-balance. I think that was the difference tonight. Good pitchers just sometimes get in your head and that's what [Barber] did to us tonight."
Johnson and Kennedy Miller had 4 of Arkansas' 5 hits in the game. The loss ended a five-game win streak for the Razorbacks.
Play of the game
Arkansas right fielder Nia Carter had a chance to throw out Wichita State's Lainee Brown to lead off the second. Brown lined a hit into right that Carter fielded on one-hop. Carter fired to first to try and get Brown, but the ball skipped off the glove of Arkansas first baseman Bri Ellis. Brown eventually scored on Wong's two-RBI single.
Herron struggles
After back-to-back stellar outings against Arizona, including a 3-2 win last weekend, Herron faltered against Wichita State. The left-hander lasted 3 2/3 innings, walked 5 batters and gave up 4 hits. She left the game with two runners on with the Razorbacks trailing 2-1.
Game 1 star
Hannah Camenzind (2-0) dominated in the circle over 5 innings in Arkansas' first game Friday against Texas-Arlington. She allowed just 5 hits with 5 strikeouts and faced just 19 batters to earn the win.
She also went 2 for 2 at the plate with a pair of RBI.
The shutout was the second straight for Arkansas' pitching staff. Three pitchers combined on a 7-0 shutout against Illinois State on Thursday.
Bogle Bombs
The Razorbacks belted three home runs against Texas-Arlington. Cylie Halvorson crushed a pair of solo homers, her third and fourth homers of the season. Rylin Hedgecock also hit a homer in the win, her third of the season.
Catcher Kennedy Miller continued her hot hitting, going 1 for 2 with a triple and 2 RBI, raising her average to .389 in the eight-spot of the order.