At home in Omaha: Aces from Texas, Stanford axed Wildcats from 1985 Series

Editor’s note: For more than six decades, the UA has been college baseball royalty, making 17 College World Series appearances and winning four national championships. The Star is reliving each of the team’s trips to Omaha.

1985: Stanford stops Wildcats in Omaha return

What went down: Arizona returned to Omaha after a five-year absence — and then promptly fell to Texas and top-ranked Stanford in back-to-back games. A 9-2 loss to the Cardinal ended the Wildcats’ season. In fairness to the Wildcats, they were beat by two of the best pitchers in the sport that year: Greg Swindell pitched Texas to a 2-1 win over the Wildcats in the CWS opener, and Stanford’s Jack McDowell kept Arizona off-balance in its elimination game. McDowell pitched a complete game, allowing nine hits with five strikeouts and two walks.

“At times, everything was working,” he said.

Miami (Fla.) went on to beat Texas 8-2 in the CWS title game.

From the archives: The Star’s Jack Magruder wrote that a first-inning running mistake — a rarity for a team that stole a record 149 bases — set the tone for what would be a disappointing game. He wrote:

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Tommy Hinzo began the game with a single to right. Chip Hale also singled to right, but Hinzo was thrown out at third by right fielder Toi Cook. The play was not close.

“I brought him,” (UA coach Jerry) Kindall said. “We were going to try to take the initiative. Put our running game in motion. We’re a run-and-gun team. I thought the ball had slowed down in the grass.”

He said it: Kindall said after the game that the 1985 team reminded him of Arizona’s 1979 squad, which won its first game then lost two in a row. Those Cats returned a year later and won it all — as the UA would again in 1986.

“I’m already anxious to start” 1986, Kindall said after the Wildcats were eliminated.

After Omaha: The Cleveland Indians drafted Texas’ Swindell second overall in 1986; he was in the big leagues by that August. Swindell pitched 17 seasons in the big leagues, spending his final four seasons as a Diamondbacks reliever. Stanford’s McDowell pitched 12 seasons with the White Sox, Yankees, Indians and Angels, winning 127 games.

The big number: 5. Stanford went 5-2 against the Wildcats in 1985. The Cardinal won the Pac-10 South title, while Arizona and Cal tied for second place.