OMAHA, Neb. — Arkansas was so close to winning its first national championship in baseball last year that Casey Martin, from his position at third base, started seeing the celebratory dogpile in his mind's eye.
Oregon State was batting in the top of the ninth inning with two outs and a runner on third base. Arkansas led 3-2 and was on the verge of a two-game sweep in the College World Series finals.
"Man, I was starting to get real excited, real jumpy," Martin, now the shortstop, recalled Friday. "Then when it happened, something just kind of dropped.