Graduate-to-be teaches all of us a lesson in kindness

Mallory Holtman, the greatest softball player in Central Washington history, graduates this week with a degree in business administration.

Sarah Tucholsky has graduated from Western Oregon and plans to go in the health field.

The names may not ring a bell. But a sudden act of sportsmanship and kindness involving those two athletes touched many of us.

It make John Kruk, a former Major League Player and broadcaster, cry bigtime.

"I saw it and I bawled," said Kruk while serving as color commentary for the College World Series of NCAA womens' softball last weekend. "I hate to admit it, but when I saw it, I sat down and bawled, just bawled."

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"Never in my life had I seen anything like it," said Gary Frederick, the Central Washington softball coach who coached football for 17 years, women's basketball for 11 years and served as athletic director for 18.

Last month, Western Oregon needed to sweep a doubleheader over Central Washington to clinch a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs. Tucholsky, a career .153 hitter who had never hit a home run even in batting practice, ripped a 3-run homer over the fence in the second inning. As she rounded first, her knee blew out. As she crawled back to first base in excruciating pain, there seemed to be a major dilemma. Tucholsky's home run would apparently not count if assisted by a teammate. If the coaches called time and put in a substitute, the over-the-fence shot would only count as a single. Western Oregon coaches thought if they or teammates touched her before they called time, killed the play and accepted a two-run single. Tucholsky would be out. Later, the officials found out that NCAA rules actually allow teams to substitute a runner for an injured player who has hit a home run.

But everyone reacted to what they thought the situation was at the moment.

And it provided us with a delicious serving of sportsmanship.

Holtman, whose career as the all-time home run leader in the Northwest Athletic Conference, had just her career celebrated on Senior Day. She watched the baffling scene unfold at first. She came up with what she thought was a logical solution. She asked the umpires if she and her teammates could help Tucholsky.

No rule against that.

So the most feared hitter in the league (Holtman) and shortstop Liz Wallace picked up the rival player and carried her around the bases, allowing he to touch each one and enjoy (as much as she could at the time) the experience of the biggest hit of her life.

"It was the right thing to do," Holtman said later. "She hit it over the fence. She deserved the home run."

"I really didn't say too much; I was trying to breathe," Tucholsky said.

Holtman asked her rival which leg was hurt. She wanted to know so she and Wallace could drop her gently and she could touch each base with her uninjured left leg.

It turned out that Tucholsky's hit was the decisive blow in a 4-2 victory for Western Oregon and the Central Washington players' action had doused playoff hopes for their team.

The action reportedly even shut up, at least for an inning or two, the Central Washington hecklers in the right field bleachers who had been giving Tucholsky a heard time in warmups.

Holtman, who plans to be a coach, recently had arthroscopic surgery on both knees, which pained her all season.

Tucholsky says she's never forget her only career home run. If presented with a similar situation later in life, she'll likely pass it on. Grace is most dynamic when shared.

This delicious slice of an exhibition and sportsmanship is offered as the summer ball season moves into high gear from youth to American Legion to pros. It illustrates that the games we play still can be built on a foundation of integrity and character.

It shows that sportsmanship and greater values can blossom through the weeds and harsh ground in this in-your-face, trash-talking modern world of sports.

It illustrates there still are Good Samaritans.

And such an action that combines justice and grace brings tears to hardened players and casual fans.

What's important are not the wins or losses, but how we play the game, wrote legendary sports writer Grantland Rice.

Still valid. Still works. Still touches us.

Thank goodness.

(Sports columnist David McCollum can be reached at 505-1235 or david.mccollum@thecabin.net)