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The former Sandusky High star, who graduated in May, is following sisters Sarah and Tonya by playing softball beyond the high school level, recently signing to attend Saginaw Valley State University. Sarah was on a national championship team at Lansing Community College before transferring to Grand Valley State University to close out her college career. Meanwhile, Tonya played two years at LCC.

Paape closed out a four-year varsity career with some outstanding numbers, including collecting over 100 RBI, and is ready to help the Cardinals at SVSU.

"I'm excited," said Paape, the daughter of Ron and Lori Paape of Sandusky. She added that it was watching her sisters play in high school and then move on to college that has motivated her.

How much influence? "Quite a bit," she said. "I've seen them both do it and I know I am as good as they are, and I know I can do it."

Head Coach Bill Graham of SVSU is just as anxious to fit Amy into his team. "What she can bring to college softball is basically in her make-up already. She comes from strong bloodlines.

"We're pretty excited to have Amy. I really like her athletic ability - one of the things I look for... are good athletes. She has a terrific arm and is really hard-nosed."

Paape was a starting catcher for the Lady Redskins all four years on varsity, but will likely play somewhere else at SVSU, perhaps third base. In four years of playing AAU ball with the Michigan Mavericks under Coach Phil Bluthardt of North Branch, Amy made a transition to third rather impressively.

In conversing briefly with Coach Graham, Paape noted, "We didn't really talk about positions but he knows I played third base in the summer league." She said she played some third base and also caught some in a tryout at SVSU last fall.

Graham, obviously, liked what he saw. "I like her at third base, actually. She has that real strong arm. She'll get a chance to compete there with one or two others. If that doesn't work out, we'll play her somewhere else."

Graham, who was interim head coach last year before being hired to take full control of the program just recently, had a young team last year with nearly all underclassmen. "We play a lot of young kids. We had just one senior and two juniors, so we had to learn on the fly."

Paape wasn't sure that she made a great first impression in the indoor SVSU tryout last fall. She commented, "I didn't think they'd take me at first ... the first thing there, one of the first throws took a bad bounce and I got a black eye. I felt kinda stupid."

Graham, though, said he remembered the incident, and realized she had to be a tough kid. "She had a bad hop and I think it hit her under the eye, but she never said a word and went on like nothing happened."

Like her sisters before, and another (Kelsey, 8th grade) behind her, softball workouts would start in the winter for Paape to get ready for the spring high school season and then would play regularly on summer teams. All the work should payoff."I hope to get some playing time this next season and (eventually) a starting spot," said Paape.

Jenni Hart of North Branch, a teammate of Paape's on the Mavericks, will also be playing for SVSU next season.

SVSU competes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Cardinals were 9-11 in league play and 25-20 overall this past season.