If your eyes don't well up while reading Graham Hays' piece on ESPN.com today, you should go to the doctor. Hays writes about Western Oregon outfielder Sara Tucholsky, a 5-foot-2 senior who had never hit a homerun during her college career. In a scoreless game against Central Washington on Saturday, Tucholsky sent one over the centerfield wall and was so excited, she skipped first base. When she went back to touch the bag, her right knee gave out and she collapsed in a heap.

Rules prohibited teammates from helping Tucholsky around the bases to credit her home run, and the logical solution seemed to have a pinch-runner come in to replace her at first and record the hit as a single. Nobody seemed to like that solution and the diminutive slugger was writhing in pain on the dirt.

The appropriate solution came to Central Washington senior Mallory Holtman, who is the school's all-time home run leader. Holtman asked the umpires if she and a teammate could carry Tucholsky around the bases, so the senior could have the homer she deserved. The answer was yes.

So two Central Washington student-athletes carried an opposing player around to home plate, where her teammates were waiting with open arms, to make sure she got her college homerun. Tucholsky's blast put Western Oregon ahead 3-0 and it stood up in a 4-2 win, but somehow, the outcome of the game doesn't really seem to matter.

Holtman doesn't think her actions were a big deal and believes anyone who knew that an opposing player could touch a baserunner would have helped Tucholsky out. I tend to believe that sportsmanship is prevalent and many student-athletes may have stepped up, but a lot of people would have kept their mouths shut.

The diagnosis isn't final, but it looks as though Tucholsky tore her ACL, which would keep her out for the rest of her college career. I wonder how she feels about going out with a Central Washington-assisted homerun. Probably pretty good.