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.

In perhaps the most memorable play at TD Ameritrade Park since it opened in 2011, Oregon State’s Cadyn Grenier popped a ball high behind first base and toward the stands. Three fielders converged. No one took charge. The ball hit the ground.

Given another chance, Grenier singled to start a three-run ninth that gave the Beavers a 5-3 win, and the next night OSU wrapped up the national title on Kevin Abel’s two-hitter in a 5-0 win.

Now No. 5 national seed Arkansas is back at the CWS, and the Hogs might be better than a year ago with an offense in the top 20 nationally in the major categories and four pitchers drafted in the first nine rounds.