Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

It’s been a long time since the Packers have been able to take home a team state title and I’m spending a good chunk of this week looking back on the last team that was able to do that.

The Packer softball team was the last Austin squad to strike gold when they took home the Minnesota Class AA title in 1987.

A lot has changed since the “cardiac kids” took home Austin’s third state softball title 33 years ago. “Robocop” was in theaters, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship was a hit on the airwaves and Bobbi Jo Rector, the mother of Austin senior AJ Richard, had the game-winning hit for an RBI in the state title game.

Austin survived five elimination games in the Regional Tournament, including a win over a Rosemount team that was actually coached by a guy named Charlie Brown. They watched St. Cloud Apollo ended Mankato East’s 48-game winning streak in the state semifinals, before the Packers beat Apollo 2-1 in 19 innings in the state championship. The win by Apollo over the Cougars was considered to be one of the biggest upsets in Minnesota softball history.

The Packers, who finished third in the Big Nine and had a record of 21-7 overall, outlasted Apollo pitcher Jill Holz in that state title game. Austin head coach Al Eckmann sent Holtz a game ball to show respect to her performance. Holz responded with a letter thanking Eckmann for the gesture.

Austin pitcher Pam Loock threw eight one-hitters in the postseason and she tossed 274 pitches in the state title game and 37 innings in the state tournament.

Austin came home to signs congratulating them at McDonald’s, Hardee’s and legendary Austin baseball coach Dick Seltz even wrote the team a congratulatory note.

From what I’ve learned about this Packer team, it sounds like they captured the spirit and work ethic it takes to be a true champion. Their mental toughness was second to none.

While it can be tough to gauge how a champion feels, Eckmann’s wife did a solid job of it in her two page poem about the team’s season. The following verse from that poem sums up the joy of victory, which mentions assistant coach Ron Bergstrom.

“On our bus ride home, from Lansing unreal

Then Ron waved at us, how do you feel?

Let this moment right now, never leave

The home crowd that met us, made use believe!”

I’ll have a full feature on the 87 Packers later this week and I’m looking forward to learning more about Austin’s last championship team.