subject: Softball Player - Sara Tucholskysinspiring Story [print this page] Sara Tucholskys Inspiring Story Sara Tucholskys Inspiring Story
Youd think its the kind of stuff that movies are made of.
It was April of 2008 and Western Oregon and Central Washingtons softball teams were battling it out for the conference championship. With a championship at stake, one could easily imagine how important the game was since every game counts in a championship series.
But what most people didnt know then was how much more special the game would become for everyone of them.
At the second inning, Western Oregons Sara Tucholsky was at bat, with two of her teammates occupying each of the 1st and 2nd bases. With the second pitch, Sara hit the ball. But it went farther than expected. After all, Sara admits that shes more of a line driver than a power hitter.
The ball flew out of the field. Sara made the first ever home run in her career.
Nobody was more excited to be in that position than Sara. But in her excitement, she missed the 1st base. So she quickly turned back. But then, something wrong happened.
It turned out that Sara tore her ACL, a ligament found on the knee. She fell to the ground, unable to get herself back up on her feet. She crawled her way back to the first base. She was in extreme pain.
Since it was apparent that she couldnt complete the run anymore, West Oregons head coach Pam Knox turned to an umpire. She asked what the ruling was if she let another player substitute Sara to complete the run. The coach replied that that would be a two run single. It meant that Saras homerun wouldnt count.
Would they let Sara keep her homerun or void it? West Oregon was in a dilemma. A dilemma solved by Central Washington.
Mallory Holtman of Central Washington asked an umpire whether her teammates could pick Sara up to let the injured player complete her homerun. The umpire was baffled. And so was Saras teammates.
But eventually, the umpire said yes.
It was then that Washingtons Liz Wallace offered to help Sara up, saying she deserved the homerun. So with Mallory, they carried the injured player around the bases, letting her feet touch each base that they passed. With her feet touching the home plate, she made her first and last career homerun.
Less than a hundred people saw the game that day. But what they didnt know that every second of that event was recorded by Sue Wallin. From there, many more people were able to witness the event through major sports channels and the internet.
The injury ended Saras softball career. However, it was a career that ended well. She made her first and only homerun in her career. And she even let her opponents help her do that. But whats more was that her two opponents helped her, even if it cost Central Washington the game, 4-2.
