May 19, 2023 6 min read

Sometimes, it really isn’t about wins and losses.

Ask the Washington & Jefferson College women’s softball team and its coach, Marissa Rush.

Shortly before the Presidents were to depart in March for their spring trip to Florida, Rush was involved in a car wreck.

She hit her head during the accident and was taken to the hospital for examination. What doctors found was a cancerous mass on her brain, unrelated to the accident.

The accident, which happened when Rush looked down to grab a doughnut that she purchased only moments before, occurred when she drove her vehicle into the back end of another vehicle. Bloodied and shaken, she was relatively fine. Until she received results from tests.

“I hit my head during the accident,” Rush said. “They ended up taking a CT scan at the hospital. They came back from that and asked me if I had been suffering from any symptoms. I had not. Then they said I needed to be transported by ambulance to a Pittsburgh hospital to have surgery for a mass they found, nothing to do with the crash.”

The mass was cancerous and Grade 2.

Her thoughts immediately turned to her son, Raymond, and husband, Nic, and her team.

Nic Rush was in Florida coaching his Chatham College baseball team. He had formerly been an assistant baseball coach at W&J.

“I contacted my husband and he flew back,” Rush said. “My thoughts were with my 4-year-old son and his safety and welfare.”

The situation stunned W&J’s softball team and the subsequent news of the mass and need for surgery threw the program into a short period of chaos, uncertainty and emotion.

“We were all really scared and concerned for her,” said Peyton Eckenrode, a senior infielder for W&J. “We didn’t know what the next steps would be. While our spring trip was still a week or so away, no one was sure how her health and our season would play out.”

W&J softball and Rush made it through the 2023 season. While the record wasn’t what they were striving for (12-20 overall and 4-14 in the Presidents Athletic Conference), the outcome was certainly a success.

Rush had surgery, and, courageously, returned a few weeks later to coach the team to the conclusion of the regular season.

“She could have just stayed at home, spent time with her little boy and recovered,” said Emily Schmucker, a sophomore outfielder and pitcher. “What happened to (Rush) made every one of us realize not to take anything for granted. Anything can happen. It was so out of the blue. It was emotional. When we all get here, we have four years to enjoy it.

“She was our only concern when it happened. Once we found out about the surgery, we all went and visited her. It was emotional. It turns out the accident could have saved her life. At that moment, we weren’t thinking about the season. We were worried about her.”

Nic Rush was driving a van in Florida to one of Chatham’s games when he got word about his wife.

“I pulled the van over to make the call and find out what was going on,” he said. “I told the team I had to leave for home. Fortunately, my aunt was coming to see us play. She drove me back to where we were and got me to the airport. … Marissa is the toughest person I know.”

During Marissa Rush’s stay in the hospital and recovery, Raymond stayed and was cared for by relatives. Their reunion, in the latter part of March, was joyous.

His first remark to his mom was: “Mommy, I’m not going to touch your head (be)cause you have a boo boo.”

In Marissa Rush’s absence, the program fell into control of assistant Hannah Dietz, who a schoolyear before was playing softball at Grove City.

While she knew of her new responsibilities, Dietz was more concerned about Rush.

“I was with her at the hospital,” Dietz explained. “She went back (for the scan) by herself. Eventually, she called me back. I was there when she found out about the mass. It was a big waiting game to determine if it was cancer. I just felt so bad for her. You could tell how nervous she was.

“From a softball standpoint it opened my eyes to what coaching is. It put things in perspective of how life is so unpredictable. I learned to take some time to take all of life in and to make the most of your time. Softball is important to us in the short term. It’s part of your life but this reminded everyone to focus on other things as well.

“Marissa can go through anything. She is such a great person. I know she kept such a brave face the whole time. She never let go of her composure. She taught us all softball, but she taught us how to be strong, keep it together and appreciate our lives.”

Scott McGuinness, W&J athletic director, said the main thought was making sure “Marissa was getting the help and support she needed.”

He added: “Coaches are so selfless. She was worried about the team. We just wanted her to take care of herself, do what she needed to do to get healthy. It was kind of amazing how quickly she bounced back.”

Marissa Rush is happy her family is together again and she appreciates the support her husband has given her. She also got an emotional lift having her son by her side and being a mom again.

In a Facebook post last month, she wrote: “Based on the fact that it was a low grade and they had a complete resection, doctors have decided they do not want to do chemo or radiation at this point in time.

“We are now just going to monitor with an MRI every (three) months to be sure everything is going according to plan. The support I have had from everyone has been amazing and I’m beyond appreciative of all of it. (I’m) still forever grateful for every guardian angel who was looking out for me during the car accident that led to finding this.

“While everything isn’t perfect, and I’m sure we will run into more challenges in the future, I know it will all be OK just like this has been.”

Shortly after the season, Rush added: “I was lucky. I wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and that probably caused me to hit my head. If I hadn’t hit my head, I may have not known about the mass until it was too late.

“I believe there is a reason why this happened the way it did. I think we’re moving in the right direction.”