Sportsmanship alive and well

Thu, May 15 2008

— It’s a story that has been gaining national attention, and Mankato’s own Caitlyn Cornell had a front-row seat for the action.
The story unfolded last Saturday when the women’s fastpitch teams from Western Oregon and Central Washington got together for a doubleheader at Ellensburg, Wash., to decide the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship.
Light-hitting Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky started the chain of events when she stepped to the plate with two runners on and proceeded to smack the ball over the center-field fence. Tucholsky, who had never before hit a collegiate home run, was as surprised as anyone and quickly went into her home run trot.
After rounding first, however, she realized she missed the bag and turned to go back. It was at that instant her knee gave out and she crumpled to the ground with what was later determined to be a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
As she writhed in pain, unable to move, the players and coaches felt helpless. She eventually crawled back to first and, by that time, the umpires had conferred and determined that since Tucholsky was unable to circle the bases, she would be awarded a two-run single and a pinch-runner could take her place.
It was at that moment the unexpected happened.
“Excuse me,” someone said to Western Oregon coach Pam Knox. “Would it be OK if WE carried her around and she touched each bag.”
The voice came from Central Washington first baseman Mallory Holtman. Holtman, who had been playing with knee problems of her own and only knew Tucholsky as an opponent for the last four years, could relate to what the player was going through.
“She hit the ball over the fence,” Holtman said. “She’s a senior; it’s her last year .... She was obviously in agony ... (it just seemed as if it was) “the right thing to do.”
The umpires conferred again and could recall nothing in the rule book against an offensive runner getting defensive assistance on the field. They gave the OK and Holtman, along with shortstop Liz Wallace, lifted Tucholsky off the ground and began a slow trip around the bases, stopping at each one so Tucholsky’s left foot could make contact.
Somewhere along the way, the surrealness of the situation got to all three players and they started giggling. When it was over, the crowd of about 300 gave a standing ovation and Tucholsky was passed into the waiting arms of her teammates.
So what does Caitlyn Cornell of Mankato have to do with this? The former Mankato East standout pitcher is now an assistant coach for the Central Washington Wildcats and was in her team’s dugout when the play transpired.
“I guess I felt the same way Mallory (Holtman) did,” Cornell said. “(Tucholsky) hit the home run, she deserved it. Why not give her what she earned.”
Western Oregon held on to win the game 4-2 to complete a doubleheader sweep of Central Washington. The Wildcats were knocked out of the playoff hunt the next day when they lost two more games to Seattle University.
Since then, the story has been picked up by ESPN, the New York Times and various newspapers, radio stations and TV stations in the Pacific Northwest. Cornell believes the story has become a big deal because sports fans are starved for news about good sportsmanship.
“I think everybody is kind of fed up with all the steriod stories and grade-fixing and all that stuff that we’ve been reading about in pro and college sports. It’s sad but, when something like this happens, it’s news.”

Jim Rueda is the Free Press sports editor. To contact him, call 344-6381 or e-mail him at jrueda@ mankatofreepress.com.

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