 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Ex-Central stars, Rollins part ways
By FRANK PASTOR SPRING HILL -- Twins Jamie and Jennifer Pape have played softball together since age 7, when they were on a local team in Dansville, N.Y. They never have been apart for more than a few days. But the Central graduates, who helped the Bears to the 2000 regional final, no longer are teammates and could soon be separated for months at a time. Because of a problem with coach Michelle Frew, Jamie Pape did not play at Rollins College this season and plans to transfer at the end of the school year. Jennifer, who left the team near midseason, will stay but no longer play for the NCAA Division II program. Paul Pape, the girls' father, said Frew brought in 11 new players in the offseason, resulting in seven new starters and little or no playing time for his daughters. "It's been a bad situation," Pape said. "It didn't work out for them." Frew could not be reached for comment. Jennifer Pape was a first-team All-Citrus/Hernando selection after batting .400 and going 13-5 with a 0.61 ERA and 234 strikeouts as a senior at Central. Jamie led the county with 28 RBIs. Jennifer continued her success at Rollins, where she was named the 2001 Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year. She batted .290 with 10 home runs, which tied for second-most in the SSC, and compiled a 12-4 record, 90 strikeouts and 1.90 ERA on the mound. Jamie, an outfielder, batted .257 with 5 doubles and 21 RBIs. But both found themselves without positions at the start of the season. "(Frew) takes seven players who were starters last year or playing an awful lot, and suddenly they get no playing time," Paul Pape said. Pape said the experience was so difficult for his daughters that they are not planning to play anywhere else. Both girls attend Rollins on academic scholarships. Jennifer, who will be a senior in the fall, studies psychology and plans to graduate from Rollins in 2003. Jamie, who is a year behind her sister academically, studies psychology. She has not decided where she might transfer. Paul Pape said the time apart might be good for his daughters. "They're fine without each other," he said. "Sometimes, I think it's better for them to be separated." Frew coached at Rollins from 1996-98 before taking a sabbatical in 1999 to coach at Lely High School in Naples. She returned to Rollins in 2000. She took a team that had won only eight games in three seasons and led it to 84 victories her first three years. Frew was named Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the Tars to a 34-13 record and third-place SSC finish in 1998. After a 32-18 mark in 2001, Rollins went 36-14 this past season, establishing a school record for victories in a year. The Tars put together their first winning record in conference play (13-11) and earned their first national ranking (22nd). -- Staff writer Frank Pastor can be reached at (800) 333-7505, ext. 1430, or pastor@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From today's Hernando Times Editorial Letters |
