The Arkansas baseball Razorbacks' national championship aspirations are alive and well, and it took an all-time great performance in the Men's College World Series to make that happen. Gage Wood was utterly dominant in a 3-0 victory versus Murray State, pitching the third no-hitter in MCWS history and the first since 1960, via ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Beyond the right-hander's electric fastball and overall magnificence, there are several factors that elevate this outing to true legendary status. He carried a 5.02 ERA going into the elimination game, but on this day, Wood looked every bit the first-round MLB prospect that scouts project him to be ahead of July's draft.

Gage Wood, Arkansas march a little closer toward a championship

The Batesville, Arkansas native was an eighth-inning hit by pitch away from attaining perfection, something that still bothered him during his postgame interview. He struck out a stupendous 19 batters during his 119-pitch masterpiece, lowering his ERA by well more than a full run.

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Wood propels the No. 3-ranked Razorbacks to the next stage and ends Murray State's Cinderella run. The man of the hour briefly celebrated with his teammates after recording the final out of the day, before making his way to the Racers' dugout.

Wood shared a nice embrace with Murray State shortstop Conner Cunningham, whom he works out with during the offseason. Minutes after securing the best moment of his athletic career, the 21-year-old made a point of sending some encouraging words to his opponent and friend. He has something called perspective.

While the focus was obviously on saving Arkansas' terrific campaign, Gage Wood also raised his MLB Draft stock with this one-of-a-kind gem. The overall body of work may turn off some executives, but thriving in a high-pressure environment will surely carry weight when teams prepare to select prospects. The Show is not yet in sight, but a College World Series title is starting to become clearer.

Arkansas still has much work left to do, as it gets set to face the loser of Monday night's showdown between LSU and UCLA. The Razorbacks have lost to the former three of four times this year, including on Saturday. But after Wood's magical showing, the aura surrounding that hypothetical rematch could be dramatically different.