2006 Arizona Wildcats softball team

2006 Arizona Wildcats softball
2006 Arizona Wildcats softball
National Champion; NCAA Tucson Super Regional champion; NCAA Tucson Regional champion
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	54–11 (15–6 Pac-10)
Head coach	Mike Candrea (21st season);
Home stadium	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium

2006 Pacific-10 Conference softball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
UCLA ‍†‍‍^y	15	–	5	.750	50	–	9	.847
Arizona ‍‍‍^y	15	–	6	.714	54	–	11	.831
California ‍‍‍^y	12	–	9	.571	48	–	14	.774
Arizona State ‍‍‍^y	11	–	10	.524	53	–	15	.779
Oregon State ‍‍‍^y	10	–	10	.500	43	–	16	.729
Stanford ‍‍‍^y	10	–	11	.476	42	–	18	.700
Washington ‍‍‍^y	6	–	15	.286	35	–	25	.583
Oregon ‍‍‍	4	–	17	.190	24	–	29	.453

† – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 6, 2006^[1] Rankings from Coaches' Poll

The 2006 Arizona Wildcats softball team represented the University of Arizona in the 2006 NCAA Division I softball season. The Wildcats were coached by Mike Candrea, who led his twenty-first season. The Wildcats finished with a record of 54–11. They played their home games at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium and competed in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they finished second with a 15–6 record.

The Wildcats were invited to the 2006 NCAA Division I softball tournament, where they won the Regional and Super Regional and then completed a run through the Women's College World Series to claim their seventh NCAA Women's College World Series Championship.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Roster

2006 Arizona Wildcats roster^[2]

Pitchers

9 - Taryne Mowatt – sophomore
17 – Leslie Wolfe – senior
44 - Alicia Hollowell – senior

Catchers

15 - Callista Balko – sophomore

Infielders

12 – Danielle Rodriguez – sophomore
14 – Chelsie Mesa – junior
24 – Laine Roth – freshman
29 - Kristie Fox – junior
31 - Jenae Leles – freshman
33 – Sam Banister – freshman

Outfielders

00 – Autumn Champion – senior
4 – Adrienne Acton – sophomore
6 – Jill Malina – freshman
21 – Kelly Nelson – senior
26 - Caitlin Lowe – junior

Schedule

Legend
	Arizona win
	Arizona loss
*	Non-Conference game

2006 Arizona Wildcats softball game log^[2]

Regular season

February
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	Pac-10 record
Feb 10	vs Cal State Northridge*	Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium • Tempe, AZ	W 9–0⁵	1–0
Feb 10	vs No. 15 Northwestern*	Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium • Tempe, AZ	W 8–0⁶	2–0
Feb 11	vs No. 4 Texas*	Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium • Tempe, AZ	W 1–0	3–0
Feb 11	vs No. 6 Texas A&M*	Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium • Tempe, AZ	W 8–0⁵	4–0
Feb 12	vs New Mexico*	Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium • Tempe, AZ	W 9–1⁵	5–0
Feb 12	vs Cal State Fullerton*	Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium • Tempe, AZ	W 2–0	6–0
Feb 17	Tennessee Tech*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 5–1	7–0
Feb 17	No. 18 Missouri*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 4–0	8–0
Feb 18	Texas Tech*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 6–0	9–0
Feb 18	NC State*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 6–0	10–0
Feb 19	Pacific*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 1–0	11–0
Feb 24	vs Texas Tech*	Palm Springs, CA	W 3–1	12–0
Feb 24	vs Texas A&M*	Palm Springs, CA	W 12–0⁵	13–0
Feb 25	vs Maryland*	Palm Springs, CA	W 8–1	14–0
Feb 25	vs Ohio State*	Palm Springs, CA	W 5–1	15–0
Feb 26	vs No. 4 Texas*	Palm Springs, CA	L 0–1	15–1

March
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	Pac-10 record
Mar 3	Sam Houston State*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 8–0⁵	16–1
Mar 3	Long Beach State*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 10–0⁵	17–1
Mar 4	Wichita State*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 11–1	18–1
Mar 4	South Florida*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 10–0	19–1
Mar 5	Long Beach State*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 11–0⁵	20–1
Mar 10	No. 18 Baylor*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 12–4⁵	21–1
Mar 12	No. 18 Baylor*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 2–1⁹	22–1
Mar 12	No. 18 Baylor*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 11–1⁶	23–1
Mar 16	vs UNLV*	Titan Softball Complex • Fullerton, CA	W 7–0	24–1
Mar 16	vs No. 18 Texas A&M*	Titan Softball Complex • Fullerton, CA	L 0–1	24–2
Mar 18	vs Cal State Northridge*	Titan Softball Complex • Fullerton, CA	W 9–0⁵	25–2
Mar 18	vs No. 6 Alabama*	Titan Softball Complex • Fullerton, CA	W 2–0	26–2
Mar 19	vs No. 4 Texas*	Titan Softball Complex • Fullerton, CA	L 0–1⁹	26–3
Mar 24	No. 10 Louisiana–Lafayette*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 5–0	27–3
Mar 25	No. 10 Louisiana–Lafayette*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 10–0	28–3
Mar 26	No. 10 Louisiana–Lafayette*	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 6–2	29–3
Mar 31	at No. 7 Oregon State	Oregon State Softball Complex • Corvallis, OR	L 1–2	29–4	0–1

April
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	Pac-10 record
Apr 1	at Oregon	Howe Field • Eugene, OR	W 4–1	30–4	1–1
Apr 7	No. 14 Washington	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 1–0	31–4	2–1
Apr 8	No. 2 UCLA	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	L 1–2	31–5	2–2
Apr 9	No. 2 UCLA	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	L 3–8	31–6	2–3
Apr 14	at No. 9 Arizona State	Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium • Tempe, AZ	L 2–4¹⁰	31–7	2–4
Apr 15	at No. 9 Arizona State	Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium • Tempe, AZ	W 3–0	32–7	3–4
Apr 21	at No. 5 Stanford	Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium • Stanford, CA	W 4–1	33–7	4–4
Apr 22	at No. 6 California	Levine-Fricke Field • Berkeley, CA	W 4–2¹³	34–7	5–4
Apr 23	at No. 6 California	Levine-Fricke Field • Berkeley, CA	L 1–5	34–8	5–5
Apr 28	at No. 1 UCLA	Easton Stadium • Los Angeles, CA	L 2–8	34–9	5–6
Apr 30	at No. 15 Washington	Husky Softball Stadium • Seattle, WA	W 2–0	35–9	6–6
Apr 30	at No. 15 Washington	Husky Softball Stadium • Seattle, WA	W 10–1	36–9	7–6

May
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	Pac-10 record
May 3	No. 6 Arizona State	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 10–0	37–9	8–6
May 5	No. 7 California	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 5–3	38–9	9–6
May 6	No. 8 Stanford	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 3–2	39–9	10–6
May 7	No. 8 Stanford	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 6–1	40–9	11–6
May 11	Oregon	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 3–1	41–9	12–6
May 11	Oregon	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 9–5	42–9	13–6
May 12	No. 7 Oregon State	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 1–0	43–9	14–6
May 13	No. 7 Oregon State	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 11–2	44–9	15–6

Postseason

NCAA Tucson Regional
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	NCAAT record
May 18	Marist	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 9–0	45–9	1–0
May 19	Ohio State	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 6–3	46–9	2–0
May 20	No. 25 Auburn	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 4–2	47–9	3–0

NCAA Tucson Super Regional
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	NCAAT record
May 26	No. 10 LSU	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 5–0	48–9	1–0
May 27	No. 10 LSU	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	L 2–3	48–10	1–1
May 27	No. 10 LSU	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 14–5⁵	49–10	2–1

NCAA Women's College World Series
Date	Opponent	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	WCWS Record
June 1	(7) Oregon State	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	W 3–2⁹	50–10	1–0
June 2	(3) Texas	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	W 2–0	51–10	2–0
June 4	(8) Tennessee	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	L 0–1	51–11	2–1
June 4	(8) Tennessee	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	W 6–0	52–11	3–1
June 5	(4) Northwestern	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	W 8–0	53–11	4–1
June 6	(4) Northwestern	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	W 6–0	54–11	5–1

References

↑ 2018 Softball Media Guide. Pac-12 Conference. p. 53. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
1 2 3 2019 Softball Media Guide (PDF). Arizona Wildcats. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 6, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
↑ "2006 NCAA Women's College World Series". Softball History USA. December 9, 2006. Retrieved August 30, 2026.
↑ "Looking Back at the NCAA Champions: 2006 Arizona Wildcats". Extra Innings Softball. January 11, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2026.

[1] 2018 Softball Media Guide. Pac-12 Conference. p. 53. Retrieved June 25, 2020.

[media-2] 1 2 3 2019 Softball Media Guide (PDF). Arizona Wildcats. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 6, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2020.

[3] "2006 NCAA Women's College World Series". Softball History USA. December 9, 2006. Retrieved August 30, 2026.

[4] "Looking Back at the NCAA Champions: 2006 Arizona Wildcats". Extra Innings Softball. January 11, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2026.

[1]

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[3]

[4]

Arizona Wildcats softball
Venues	UA Softball Field (1974–1992) Mike Candrea Field at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium (1993–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
National Championships in bold; College World Series appearances in italics

Arizona Wildcats 2006 Women's College World Series Champions
9 Taryne Mowatt 15 Callista Balko 26 Caitlin Lowe 29 Kristie Fox 31 Jenae Leles 44 Alicia Hollowell (MOP)
Head coach Mike Candrea
Regular season NCAA tournament Women's College World Series