Dan Gooley took over as baseball coach at the University of Hartford in 1988, and inherited a fairly decent third baseman out of Killingworth — a sophomore named Jeff Bagwell. It didn’t take long for Gooley to discover he had a special player.

During a game early in Gooley’s tenure, Hartford went into extra innings. The opposing team brought in a reliever to face Bagwell. Kneeling in the on-deck circle, Bagwell watched the new pitcher warm up.

Gooley, recounting what happened next, provides visual aid. He gets down on one knee, a bat on his shoulder, and turns his head.

“(Bagwell said) ‘Hey Skip’,” Gooley recalls. “‘It’s all over.’”

Bagwell then stepped into the batter’s box and crushed a walk-off home run that might still be going.

Read Chip Malafronte's complete story.