Coach Jen Probst left the sunshine state with a bright addition to her resume – her 100th career win.
Probst knew she neared the career milestone when she started the season.
“The girls last year were pushing for more wins last season because they knew they were close to 100 wins.”
Last year’s seniors were the first freshman class Probst had. Probst’s victory came in dramatic fashion. Trailing Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 3-0, shortstop Whitney Ellenburg hit a game tying three run home runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Cougars would go on to win 5-3.
“The girls always do that to me,” said Probst. “They find ways to keep me on the edge of my seat and shock me with the ways they come through in the end.”
Senior pitcher Jess Armillay is the only senior on this year’s squad and a member of Probst’s first recruited class. She felt how close they were to the milestone and the team wanted it before they left Florida.
“We know how much coach Probst and the rest of our coach- ing staff work and the time and effort she puts into team, along with how badly she wants us to succeed not only on the field but of off the field. We wanted to be the team to get that 100th win for her and wanted it for her.”
Armillay speaks fondly of the coach and everything she does for the team so in return, the team gives Probst the things she wants most – “hard work, intensity and a positive attitude at all times.”
Probst did not imagine being a head softball coach for a college team back in her playing days. A graduate from Bloomsburg University in biology and chemistry, Probst thought she would be working in the medical research field at Hershey Medical Center where she had been for quite some time.
Probst, of course, played softball in her days at Bloomsburg, helping lead her team to three NCAA tournament appearances. She never lost her love of the game.
She had signed up to be a pitching coach for a little extra money, and then she saw an advertise- ment for a pitching coach position at York College. Instead of pursuing graduate school for something in the science field, she pursued a degree in sports management with a concentration in coaching.
“It was something I knew I wanted to do with the rest of my life,” said Probst. “I enjoyed helping younger people understand the game.
While she worked on getting her Master’s, she stayed as an assistant coach at York, and then landed her first head coaching job at MU.
Probst takes no credit for her team’s success.
“The win is for them. I don’t play the game.”
Instead, she likes to enjoy watching her players develop their potential not only as athletes, but as students. She knows how to help them balance time on the field and in the classroom.
Probst looks forward to seeing the playing field again after the winter snow clears so she can work this year’s group of women toward even more wins – not for her, for the girls.
“The team chemistry is great. They have no fear in them, and everybody works well. They make it easy for me to enjoy coaching and watching them win the games.”