Softball Players Help Injured Opponent Score Home Run

When a softball player became injured after hitting the ball out of the park, her opponents lifted her up and carried her across the field to help her make a home run.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on May 08 2008

Sara Tucholsky had never hit a home run before. But at the softball game between her college team, Western Oregon University, and the opposing Central Washington University team, she hit the ball all the way over the fence.

But as she broke into a run to circle the field, her knee buckled under her. She couldn’t make it past first base, and it was against the rules for her teammates to help her. It seemed like she wouldn’t have a chance to celebrate her long-awaited home run –until the opposing team stepped in to help.

Amazingly, two members of the Central Washington team, Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace, lifted Tuchlowsky up, and carried her around the playing field, stopping at each base so that the injured player could touch the bases with her foot. By the time they reached the home plate, the Western Oregon players were all in tears.

The two players’ amazing act of sportsmanship led to their team’s disqualification from the playoffs, but in the end, that didn’t really matter, Holt told The Associated Press.

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

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