Gimino: Hollowell earns spot at the top
by Anthony Gimino on Jun. 07, 2006, under Sports
Arizona players just defeated Northwestern 5-0 in the national championship game Tuesday.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Alicia Hollowell has 144 victories and 1,768 strikeouts, but the numbers might as well have been zeroes until 7:20 Tucson time Tuesday night.
That’s when Hollowell struck out Jamie Dotson in the top of the seventh and got “the one.”
The one national title that, as a recruit, she had promised to coach Mike Candrea.
The one national title that allows her to, inarguably, join the rotation of Arizona pitching greats.
There are now the Big Four – Parra, Evans, Finch and Hollowell – and if you don’t know the first names, you haven’t been paying much attention to the most successful college softball program of the past 15 years.
Hollowell added to the legacy in the past six days, pitching six games at the Women’s College World Series, winning five, including Tuesday’s night’s 5-0 title-clinching win over Northwestern at ASA Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium.
Closing her career with the school career records for wins and strikeouts and innings and no-hitters, and on and on, Hollowell had, until Tuesday night, failed to advance beyond the intersection of ability and opportunity.
Was she merely a very good pitcher who kept spinning big numbers because for most of her career UA had nobody else?
Did she need a title to secure her place among the UA elite?
“Yes,” Candrea said.
“Absolutely,” Hollowell said.
Even her dad thought so.
About a month ago, Alicia was telling her father about a UA coach from another sport who had pulled her aside and said, “You’re the best pitcher I have seen at Arizona.”
Doug Hollowell’s response: “I just rolled my eyes. I told her, ‘You know what? You have set all the meaningful pitching records at Arizona, but, knowing the tradition at Arizona, real success is measured in national championships.’
“I just felt like if she had gone out without a national championship, all her numbers would be tainted. This seals the deal.”
Hollowell had the toughest act to follow, stepping in as a freshman in 2003 for departed All-American and softball cover girl Jennie Finch.
Hollowell has always been a bit of a hard read (at least to outsiders) because of her by-the-book answers and generally brief responses in interviews. She, like Susie Parra in the early 1990s, put on a deliberate poker face during games, never wanting to tip her emotional hand.
The fire inside wasn’t always readily apparent.
Determined to be in the best shape of her life as a senior, she worked out harder than ever last summer.
“I did what the team did,” she said. “And then I did more.”
Better conditioned, with stronger legs, Hollowell was at her best at the WCWS, finishing 43 innings with a 0.33 ERA, earning most outstanding player honors.
In the past couple of days, family and coaches saw a sense of calm come over Hollowell.
“She knew she was where she needed to be mentally, physically and emotionally,” said pitching coach Nancy Evans, who won the 1997 title game. “She carried herself with confidence.”
And then she carried the Wildcats to a title.
“She promised me as a recruit she would win a national championship for me,” Candrea said, before adding with a smile, “She didn’t tell me it was going to take four years.”
Arizona at the Women’s College World Series
Arizona at the Women’s College World Series
The Arizona softball team is making its 18th appearance at the College World Series in the past 19 years.
Producer: Anthony Gimino
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