ninth-inning

Happening in the ninth inning of a baseball game.

Happening as late as possible, eleventh-hour.

1921. Kenneth D. Cassidy, "Teaching Truck Salesmanship", Michigan Manufacturer & Financial Record. The result has been that some truck manufacturers already have gone into bankruptcy, while many are making a ninth-inning attempt at re-organization in a desperate attempt to ward off failure.

2011, November 11. Krystal Peak, "Zynga wants stock back, calls company meritocracy", Vator News. But we can chalk a lot of this ninth-inning scramble to the fact that Zynga issued 33 million in new stock for the 2010, which was just too much to offer out so early in the game.