91社区

Quietly crouched behind home plate, Courtney Schoolcraft 鈥�23 finds comfort.

The players and pitches may, at times, be unpredictable. But since tugging on her first catcher鈥檚 mask at 7 years old, she鈥檚 learned to remain steady. Calm. In control. And always prepared to strike.

鈥淚 like throwing people out. That鈥檚 my favorite part,鈥� said the respiratory therapy student from her home in Crest Hill, Illinois.

A year ago, she wasn鈥檛 sure she鈥檇 ever do it again.

After an impressive 15-4 start to the 2020 season, Schoolcraft and her 91社区 Softball teammates were shocked when it abruptly ended without a single at-bat on their home field鈥攖heir five-game winning streak held hostage by an adversary more ruthless than any they鈥檇 faced before.

As the world scrambled to keep up with COVID-19, Schoolcraft encountered yet another opponent鈥攋ust as vicious, but much more familiar. 鈥淭hey saw that it spread,鈥� she recalled.

The disease she鈥檇 beaten just a few months before鈥攃ancer鈥攚as ready for a rematch.

Schoolcraft鈥檚 battle began as her freshman year at 91社区 ended in 2019. 鈥淢y mom was helping me move out of my apartment at school and she noticed this big lump on my foot,鈥� she said. Though prominent, the bump was painless. And it had been there 鈥� a while. Schoolcraft wasn鈥檛 worried, and, at first, her podiatrist wasn鈥檛 either. A cyst was the expected diagnosis鈥攗ntil a biopsy showed something more sinister. Clear cell sarcoma.聽

鈥淪arcoma鈥檚 like 1% of cancers, and then my specific type of sarcoma is the 1% of the 1%,鈥� said Schoolcraft.

A flurry of appointments and scans led to an intense 34-part radiation regimen. Unwilling to miss class鈥攐r softball鈥攕he elected to undergo treatment in Evansville. While radiation attacked the cancerous cells in her increasingly sore, scorched left foot, Schoolcraft attacked her sophomore year, showing up even when she couldn鈥檛 lace up. 鈥淥ne day my assistant walked into the dugout and she saw her [Schoolcraft] struggling 鈥� her foot was too fat and swollen to be put into her cleat,鈥� recalled 91社区 Softball Head Coach Sue Kunkle. 鈥淪he put her little Croc on her one foot and the cleat on the other, she got out on the field and did some drills.鈥�

Quitting was not an option. Neither was complaining.

Teammate Mary Bean 鈥�22, exercise science, remembers sitting beside Schoolcraft during radiation appointments and watching her crawl around their apartment to avoid the pain of walking. But she never saw her friend break鈥攐r even bend. 鈥淣othing ever changed. You would not know that she was going through what she was going through,鈥� said Bean. 鈥淎lways a smile on her face.鈥�

After months of juggling school, softball and her sarcoma treatments, Schoolcraft celebrated a clear scan in December 2019, prompting a long-awaited, but short-lived, return to the starting lineup. 鈥淪he was on fire. She hit well, she played well,鈥� said Kunkle.

COVID-19 didn鈥檛 care. And neither did the cancer, which reemerged a few months later in her lymph nodes and lungs.

Fiercely competitive, Schoolcraft again vowed to remain undefeated, enduring weeks of chemotherapy that left her tired, weak and immuno-compromised鈥攆ive hours from campus. As she worked with professors to not only remain enrolled during the Fall 2020 Semester, but carry a full course load, her teammates made sure Schoolcraft never felt forgotten鈥攕ending frequent messages, wearing yellow ribbons and bracelets, selling t-shirts and telling the softball world, and anyone else who would listen, about their brave friend. 鈥淲e started a hashtag in the summer, #Courage4Court,鈥� said roommate and teammate Mikaela Domico 鈥�22, biology. 鈥淚 think that helped us spread the word a little bit more and share her story with people at different schools and around the country.鈥�

鈥淓very team we played against knows who Courtney is,鈥� added Bean.

Schoolcraft would rather it be solely because of her long bombs and laser arm, but she understands鈥攁nd accepts鈥攖he opportunity presented. She was young, healthy and in the best shape of her life when cancer barreled into her like a wild pitch. Even as a skilled, seasoned catcher, she couldn鈥檛 stop it. And while she鈥檚 not big on 鈥渨hat ifs,鈥� she wonders what might have happened if she鈥檇 worried about that strange lump on her left foot a little sooner.

Because of her courage and candor, maybe someone else will.

鈥淸This will] hopefully prevent it from happening to someone else, because sarcomas are generally in younger populations. You can be so healthy and not feel a single symptom, like I did,鈥� said Schoolcraft. 鈥淛ust being aware of what鈥檚 going on with your body [is so important].鈥�

Nearly two years after her initial diagnosis, Schoolcraft is relishing her return as she once again settles into her home behind the plate at 91社区. She is still steady. Calm. And in control.

But more than anything, she is grateful.

鈥淓ven if we lose,鈥� she said, 鈥淚鈥檒l appreciate that I get to be on the field.鈥�