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.
Posts: 2276 | Location: Glen Ellyn, Il | Registered: September 23, 2003
Between seeing the Ruydah party of six, reading the B&W Snackery post above and this article this morning, I found myself all misty-eyed on the train ride into town this a.m. There's a lot of good out there. Thanks for posting, jombl.
I heard that the umpires screwed up. Supposedly a pinch runner could have run the bases for the injured player. I don't know, but I bet Sojka knows....
I am a dyslexic agnostic insomniac. I lay awake at night wondering if there is a dog.
"Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has not heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains." (Winston Churchill)
If you perverts can get your mind out of the gutter, this is a story about my niece, who plays for Texas A&M Corpus Christi. She will be staying with us this Summer.
I know when I was her age, a night of fun was hanging out with some 40-50 somethings.
"Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has not heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains." (Winston Churchill)
I've had so many "misty" moments this week, I'm looking like some kind of serious softie! That story really got to me. And today, at the end of a conference I was attending, this keynote speaker just blew me away. Plus, a couple days ago, at the same conference John McDonough, former President of the Cubs and current President and CEO of the Blackhawks was our opening keynoter. Wow, is he a great guy! First, he is incredibly real and humble. Second, he tells some great stories. Third, he spent a good amount of time answering questions/taking comments from the audience. One woman thanked him for his encouraging words noting that her son, named Wrigley Fields (true - first name is Wrigley, last name is Fields), is small for his age and trying so hard to be a good baseball player (he's seven). He asked if she was serious about his name. She was. So, he told her that he would arrange for their family to come to the field, meet the players, get a signed baseball AND Wrigley will get to throw a cermonial first pitch. There was not a dry eye on any mom in the room. We were all so moved at imagining what an amazing experience it would be for that little boy! Kindness is so awesome!
"The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, automobiles and real state, but friendships, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love and faith. " -Bertrand Russell V. Delong
Posts: 3106 | Location: Glen Ellyn, IL | Registered: April 04, 2003
"I'd play football if my parents would let me," she said. "Not quarterback. Defense."
Richardson accepted the state team track title by herself
quote:
Bonnie Richardson ran. She threw. She jumped.
And when it was time to hand out the team trophies, Richardson accepted the 1A team championship for Rochelle High School -- by herself.
Richardson accepted the state team track title by herself Bonnie Richardson of Rochelle High School scored 42 team points to win the Texas 1A track title.
Richardson was the only Rochelle athlete to qualify for the state meet and stunningly won the team title. University Interscholastic League officials said it was the first time they can remember a single athlete winning a girls' team title.
It's happened before on the boys' side, but not since former Baylor Bear and Pittsburgh Steeler Frank Pollard did it for Meridian High School in the 1970s, said UIL Athletics Director Charles Breithaupt.
"This totally blows me away," the freckle-faced Richardson said while holding the trophy with a gold medal draped on her neck. "This is amazing. I had no idea it was even possible."
Richardson's title march began with field events on Friday when she won the high jump (5 feet, 5 inches), placed second in the long jump (18-7) and was third in the discus (121-0).
On Saturday, she won the 200 meters in 25.03 seconds and nearly pulled off a huge upset in the 100 before finishing second (12.19) to defending champion Kendra Coleman of Santa Anna. Richardson, a junior, earned a total of 42 team points to edge team runner-up Chilton (36).
It was a good thing the 1A events were split over two days because Richardson said the heat -- temperatures were in the high 90s both days -- might have knocked her down. She laughed off a suggestion that she could have won more if UIL rules didn't limit individual participation to five events.
"I don't think I could handle any more," she said. "It was hot and I was tired."
Many outstanding girls athletes have dominated state meets, but few cross over from the sprints to the field events with Richardson's success, Breithaupt said.
"The way she did it is really impressive," Breithaupt said. "A lady like that could be a heptathlete."
Rochelle is about 85 miles east of San Angelo, and Richardson's high school doesn't even have a real track. The football field has a ring of caliche and grass around it.
So how does she train?
"Watch for potholes," she joked. "We have a track about 10 miles down the road and train there usually."
Richardson's coach, Jym Dennis, suspected she could do something special in the team category, but didn't tell her on the trip to Austin because he didn't want to make her nervous.
"I was hoping she'd get a few gold medals to put her over the top and she did," Dennis said. "She's an amazing athlete. I think she could win a lot of events."
As a sophomore, she competed in the high jump, long jump and discus. She won the long jump but didn't medal in the others. On Saturday, she was surprised by her second-place finish in the 100.
"Kendra and I have been battling all year. I was amazed I stayed with her. I didn't think I was that fast," she said.
Richardson also plays tennis and led her basketball team to the state semifinals last season.
"I'd play football if my parents would let me," she said. "Not quarterback. Defense."
Posts: 2276 | Location: Glen Ellyn, Il | Registered: September 23, 2003
