April 30, 2008   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.  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. 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.  Holtman said she and Wallace weren't thinking about the playoff spot.  As the trio reached home plate, the entire Western Oregon team was in tears.  Central Washington coach Gary Frederick, a 14-year coaching veteran, called the act of sportsmanship "unbelievable."  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's really not so much about winning or losing... but how you play the game.