PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - With two runners on base and a strike against her, Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon University uncorked her best swing and did something she had never done, in high school or college. Her first home run cleared the center-field fence.

But it appeared to be the shortest of dreams come true when she missed first base, started back to tag it and collapsed with a knee injury.

She crawled back to first but could do no more. The first-base coach said she would be called out if her teammates tried to help her. Or, the umpire said, a pinch runner could be called in, and the homer would count as a single.

Then, members of the Central Washington University softball team stunned spectators by carrying Tucholsky around the bases Saturday so the three-run homer would count - an act that contributed to their own elimination from the playoffs.

Central Washington first baseman Mallory Holtman, the career home run leader in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, asked the umpire if she and her teammates could help Tucholsky.

The umpire said there was no rule against it.
So Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace put their arms under Tucholsky’s legs, and she put her arms over their shoulders. The three headed around the base paths, stopping to let Tucholsky touch each base with her good leg.

“The only thing I remember is that Mallory asked me which leg was the one that hurt,” Tucholsky said. “I told her it was my right leg and she said, ‘OK, we’re going to drop you down gently and you need to touch it with your left leg,’ and I said ‘OK, thank you very much.”‘

“She said, ‘You deserve it, you hit it over the fence,’ and we all kind of just laughed.”

“We started laughing when we touched second base,” Holtman said. “I said, ‘I wonder what this must look like to other people.”‘

“We didn’t know that she was a senior or that this was her first home run,” Wallace said Wednesday. “That makes the story more touching than it was. We just wanted to help her.”

Holtman said she and Wallace weren’t thinking about the playoff spot, and didn’t consider the gesture something others wouldn’t do.

As for Tucholsky, the 5-foot-2 right fielder was focused on her pain.

“I really didn’t say too much. I was trying to breathe,” she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday.

“I didn’t realize what was going on until I had time to sit down and let the pain relax a little bit,” she said. “Then I realized the extent of what I actually did.”

“I hope I would do the same for her in the same situation,” Tucholsky added.

As the trio reached home plate, Tucholsky said, the entire Western Oregon team was in tears.

Central Washington coach Gary Frederick, a 14-year coaching veteran, called the act of sportsmanship “unbelievable.”

For Western Oregon coach Pam Knox, the gesture resolved the dilemma Tucholsky’s injury presented.

“She was going to kill me if we sub and take (the home run) away. But at the same time I was concerned for her. I didn’t know what to do,” Knox said.

Tucholsky’s injury is a possible torn ligament that will sideline her for the rest of the season, and she plans to graduate in the spring with a degree in business. Her home run sent Western Oregon to a 4-2 victory, ending Central Washington’s chances of winning the conference and advancing to the playoffs.

“In the end, it is not about winning and losing so much,” Holtman said. “It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain, and she deserved a home run.”

Test Your Little League Knowledge

In 1946 an American past time was passed on to another generation. In its 62nd installment, the 2008 Little League World Series will be held in South Williamsport, PA from August 15-24. How much do you truly know about Little League?

- How many regional tournaments are there?

There are 8 tournaments held in the US and 8 held internationally

-How many innings are there in a typical Little League game?

Six

-Why is the Little League World Series held in Williamsport every year?

Williamsport is home to the founder of Little League, Carl Stotz.

-What was the first non-US country to win the Little League World Series?

Mexico in 1957 and 1958

-In what year were girls first allowed to play in the World Series?

1974

-What Major League players participated in both the Little League World Series and the Major League Series?

Boog Powell, Jim Barbieri, Rick Wise, Carney Lansford (twice!), Ed Vosberg, Charlie Hayes, Dwight Gooden, Derek Bell (twice!), Gary Sheffield, Jason Marquis, and Jason Varitek

Little League is an important cornerstone for today’s youth. It builds team work, character, confidence, and individualism helping to shape the future.

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Anticipation builds as the crowd watches the clock tick down to the remaining moments of the final game of the season. What would you do if you had the chance to make the winning basket? All eyes are on you, but you decide to not take the shot. Instead you pass the ball off to a player on the opposing team who hadn’t had much ball time. This girl was cognitively handicapped and appeared invisible to her teammates and referees.

Without hesitation, you pass the ball to this girl and encourage her to take the shot, against your own team! Another teammate sees what you’re doing, and when the girl misses she passes the ball back to her. The crowd rises to their feet in the spirit of unity, and erupt in applause and cheers as the ball swishes through the net.

Little did Marissa Molitor and Justine Drummer know, but this was the girl’s first basket ever! By seeing the girl as the strong player she is, the aided in soaring her confidence like the ball soaring through the air.

Pin Concepts admires this selfless act, and wants to congratulate these two Wisconsin middle school girls basketball players. Their show of great sportsmanship and compassion towards an opposing team player will be remembered by all who stood witness, for giving a handicapped player her moment of glory!

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A story of tragedy shook the country on April 16, 2007 when 32 people lost their lives in the Virginia Tech shooting. On March 18, 2008, the New York Yankees traveled to Blacksburg, VA. Offering inspiration, the Yanks wanted to play a spring training game against the VA Tech baseball team in honor of the victims of the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

This wasn’t the first time the Yankees showed their support to VA Tech University. In May 2007 they donated $1 million to the VA Tech Hokie Memorial Fund, a fund set up to give assistance to those most closely effected by the shooting.

Thirty two orange balloons wafted up into the sky before the game that Tuesday night in memory of the 32 victims of last April’s tragedy. Along with the Virginia Tech players, fans, and family members stood the New York Yankees. Together Virginia Tech and the Yankees played a game of baseball that won’t soon be forgotten.

Pin Concepts gives a salute to the Yankees baseball club! Their acts of kindness is what being a part of the Great American Pastime is all about. This game was more about healing and offering hope, than it was about baseball.

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