An admirable display of sportsmanship, involving three Division II softball players from the Northwest, will result in some high-profile surroundings for those collegiate athletes on Friday night -- on the pitcher's mound at Safeco Field.

Western Oregon University's Sara Tucholsky, and Central Washington University's Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace will throw out first pitches before Friday's game between the Mariners and the Padres, scheduled for 7:10 p.m. PT, after an incident that gained national attention.

During an otherwise normal game on April 26, senior outfielder Tucholsky bashed a pitch over the center-field fence for her first career home run. But elation turned into disaster when she missed first base on her home run trot and severely injured her knee while turning back to touch it.

Enter Holtman and Wallace, who carried Tucholsky around the diamond after the umpire ruled that Tucholsky had to touch the bases without help from her own team for the homer to count. WOU ended up winning, 4-2, in a game that had conference title implications.

Tucholsky and Holtman are both seniors and hail from Forest Grove, Ore., and White Salmon, Wash., respectively. Wallace is a junior from Florence, Mont.