June 6 2006 – Arizona beat Northwestern 5-0 for the 2006 NCAA Softball Championship. The Wildcats won 20 of its last 22 games, and rode the right arm of Alicia Hollowell all the way to the championship. A four-time All-American, Hollowell pitched 43 innings, striking out a record 64 hitters and allowing only two earned runs in a WCWS-record six complete games.
The championship was the school’s 13th NCAA team championship. Arizona head coach Mike Candrea has led Arizona teams to the title in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001 and, now, 2006. Since his first title, Candrea’s teams have won more than any other school although UCLA leads in overall team softball championships with 10.