While the Southern Minny Stars and the Mankato Mashers played to a 4-4 tie in the seventh inning of Saturday night’s baseball game at Marcusen Park, LeAnn Zerck leaned over to fellow season-ticket-holder Susan Thielen, and asked the probability gods to take a night off.

Tuesday, August 10, 1999

While the Southern Minny Stars and the Mankato Mashers played to a 4-4 tie in the seventh inning of Saturday night’s baseball game at Marcusen Park, LeAnn Zerck leaned over to fellow season-ticket-holder Susan Thielen, and asked the probability gods to take a night off.

"If neither team scores, then we can watch them that much longer," Zerck said, trying to make the best out of a bad situation.

The two friends were watching what will, in all likelihood, be the Stars’ final game in Austin. After four years in Austin, the first two with professional ballplayers and the past two with collegiate players, the team officials announced Friday afternoon that the club was in debt and would cut its ties with Austin.

For Zerck, losing the Stars meant more than just not having a local baseball team to watch on summer evenings. Making the trek from Albert Lea to Austin’s Marcusen Park was an excuse to get together with the friends she’s made two rows up above the Stars dugout.

"It’s going to be tough," said Zerck, who along with her husband Rick, has made all of the Stars’ road games as well. "I’m not looking forward to it. This has been a big part of our summers. We’ve gotten to know quite a few people."

Among those people is Thielen, and her daughter, 15-year-old Jill, of New Brighton who have been season ticket holders since 1994, when the team was in Minneapolis.

"She cries at the end of each season," Thielen said of her daughter. "This is real tough for her."

"I knew they were struggling," LeAnn said. "I just kept hoping it wouldn’t come to that. We just don’t understand why people didn’t come out. It was good family entertainment that wasn’t too expensive."

Rick said one improvement the Star could have made would have been with player selection, such as concentrating on getting players from Minnesota.

The Stars and the Brainerd Mighty Gulls were the only teams in the eight-team Northwoods League without a Minnesota native on the roster.

Ironically, the Zercks, two of the Stars’ biggest supporters, represented what the Stars were always seeking, but never quite getting enough of – fans from Albert Lea.

John Nystrom, who also had season tickets for the past four years with his wife Mary, wasn’t surprised by the team’s announcement.

"It was bound to happen," said Nystrom, who compared the Stars’ relationship with Austin as four-year high school love affair. "The market is too small."

Nystrom also said the team was hurt after it switched to college players.

"It’s a different feel," he said, noting the lack of returning players might have made it difficult for fans get to know more of the players and follow the team. "They just don’t have the flamboyancy like the pros did."

It’s been four years since Pat Cooling has had to face fall in Austin without the prospect of hosting at least one of the Southern Minny Stars for next summer.

"It’s been my life," said Cooling, who cried when she heard the news of the stars’ likely exodus. "I don’t know what I’m going to do."

Cooling become an almost an unofficial "team grandma" for the club. She missed only five games in the four years. She hosted six players and sometimes more, washing their clothes and feeding them.

Players expressed similar sadness about the team’s future.

"It’s a shame," said catcher Joe Albano, who spent two seasons with the Stars. "It’s like its being taken away from the fans. I’ve made a lot of friends here. I really feel like a part of the town."

"Obviously it’s very disappointing," said designated hitter Aaron Zehnal. "It’s nice see a lot of people come out. I’m sorry to see it end. I can’t thank the fans enough."