By Tom Ensey -- Troy SID (1979-97)
It was midnight. And baseball was still being played.
On May 23, 1986, in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship Finals, Troy State trailed Mankato State, 6-4, in the top of the ninth. The game hadn't even started until 9:15 p.m. The afternoon contest, a 14-12 Sacramento State win over Tampa, had dragged on for three hours. Then, the between-game ceremonies ran overtime, pressing everything back against this moment, this unlikely hour.
Midnight, bases loaded, one out: Troy third baseman Wendell Stephens at bat with an 0-2 count and a national championship in the balance.