Want to know what true sportsmanship is? Google search the names Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace.

A few days ago, these two young women reminded the sports world of exactly what sportsmanship is all about.

Faced with the decision of either doing what they knew in their hearts was the right thing to do or doing something that might help their team win its biggest game of the season, they went with their consciences and did the right thing.

The college softball game was a big one. Western Oregon, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference leaders, faced second-place Central Washington, led by Holtman and Wallace. Central Washington needed to win the game to have any hope of winning their first conference title.

When Sara Tucholsky, Western Oregon’s eighth hitter, stepped up to the plate with two runners on base in the top of the second inning, she had never hit a home run in her life. Ever. Not even in batting practice. The 5-foot-2 senior right fielder was a .088 hitter who only had 34 at-bats the whole season.

Then she did it. She hit a line drive to left field that disappeared over the fence for a home run. It was maybe the greatest moment of her career.

Then, in a split second, the joy of that moment was shattered.

Tucholsky was so happy she’d hit a home run that she missed first base. So she turned to go back.

But her cleat stuck in the dirt, and when she turned, she tore her right anterior cruciate ligament. Tucholsky tumbled to the ground in immense pain.

Her season was over. Her career was over. And she still had three bases left to complete her home run.

The rule book prevented any of Tucholsky’s teammates from carrying her around the bases. The way the umpires understood the rules (incorrectly, it turned out), if she couldn’t get up and run around the bases, she would have to let a pinch runner replace her —and her three-run home run would become a two-run single.

But as Holtman, Central Washington’s first baseman, stood only a few feet from where Tucholsky lay in pain, she knew the girl didn’t deserve to lose the only home run of her career.

So as Western Oregon tried to decide what to do, Holtman walked up to the umpire, and asked a question that shocked everybody that heard it.

“Excuse me, would it be OK if we carried her around and she touched each bag?”

There was nothing saying they couldn’t. So Holtman called over Wallace, the CWU shortstop. The two of them picked up Tucholsky, and started carrying her towards second base.

They lowered her down, and let her touch second base with her left foot. Then they carried her to third, and did the same thing. By this time, the Central Washington home crowd was on its feet, giving the trio a standing ovation.

Finally, they carried her home, and set her foot on home plate. Then they handed her to her teammates, most of whom had been brought to tears.

Sara Tucholsky had her home run — and the ride of her life.

The home run gave Western Oregon a 3-0 lead, and the Wolves wound up winning the game, 4-2. They eventually won the conference championship.

But for both teams, the outcome of the game was overshadowed by that moment in the second inning.

How many coaches, given the situation, would have heartlessly demanded that Tucholsky accept the single? How many would have charged out of the dugout and told the two girls to put Tucholsky down?

But not Central Washington’s Gary Fredrick. Fredrick, a 40-year coaching veteran, told ESPN, almost on the verge of tears himself, “It’s emotional. You’re proud to be associated with those girls.”

Holtman has played down the moment, telling espn.com, “Honestly, it’s one of those things that I hope anyone would do it for me. She hit the ball over the fence. She’s a senior; it’s her last year.… I think anyone who knew that we could touch her would have offered to do it, just because it’s the right thing to do. She was obviously in agony.”

Yes, Mallory, it was the right thing to do. But not everybody would have done it. Too often the world of sports is so focused on winning that, in that situation, they would have made Tucholsky settle for a single, to prevent the run from scoring.

But Mallory Holtman is a better person than that. She knew that wasn’t right. She knows what it feels like to hit a home run — she’d done it 35 times in four years at CWU — and she knew that Tucholsky deserved the chance to circle the bases and get her home run.

She and Liz Wallace knew what it meant to have sportsmanship and class. They wanted to win the game — but they also knew it wasn’t worth cheating a fallen opponent out of something she rightfully deserved.

So they carried her the final 180 feet of her journey. And gave her a moment she’ll never forget. And they gave us all a lesson I hope we can learn from.

It turns out the umpires had the rules wrong. Page 105, rule 8.5.3.2 of the NCAA softball rule book reads, “If an injury to a batter-runner or runner prevents her from proceeding to an awarded base, the ball is dead and the substitution can be made. The substitute must legally touch all awarded or missed bases not previously touched.” So a pinch runner could have run those final three bases for Tucholsky. But then again, it was Tucholsky’s home run — and thanks to Holtman and Wallace, she got to complete her trip around the bases.

You can watch video of Holtman and Wallace carrying Tucholsky around the bases on YouTube. You can also watch the SportsCenter feature devoted to their act of kindness, and their interviews with ESPN and Ellen DeGeneres.

For the record, Holtman was the conference’s Player of the Year, hitting .397 with 10 home runs and 31 runs batted in — and one big assist. She is the greatest softball player in her school’s history. Wallace batted .302, but ironically, did not hit a home run (she has homered twice in college). Both were Academic All-Conference selections, as was Tucholsky.

Tucholsky batted .114 this season. That was her only home run and her only three RBIs of 2008.

That was the final at-bat of Sara Tucholsky’s softball career. She is graduating with a business degree, and will trade her uniform for a business suit. But she hangs up her cleats with a memory that will last the rest of her life.

Holtman and Wallace may leave college having never won a conference championship. But judging by that one act, they have already become champions in the game of life.