EVAN CARAVELLI/Arizona Daily Wildcat Sophomore softball pitcher Alicia Hollowell pitched a perfect game against Indiana last week, striking out 20 of the 21 batters she went up against and earning her third consecutive Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week award.

Name: Alicia Hollowell

Year: Sophomore

Position: Pitcher

From: Suisun City, Calif.

Last week, sophomore Alicia Hollowell pitched a perfect game against Indiana, striking out 20 of the 21 batters she faced. She also struck out three in one inning of relief against UTEP, earning her third consecutive Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week award. Her 20 strikeouts in a seven-inning game are a UA record and the second-best total in NCAA history.

Just 25 games into the season, Hollowell's (15-0, 0.65 ERA) 202 strikeouts put her near the top 10 for most Ks in a single season by a UA pitcher. The current record of 394 ÷ owned by Hollowell ÷ appears to be in peril, as she is averaging 2.1 strikeouts per inning.

Hollowell, the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2002, took a break from striking people out to talk to the Wildcat about where she gets her super powers from, the advantages of having only five birthdays so far and who can be the first college team to beat the USA Olympic team.

Wildcat: So did you hear that you were named pitcher of the week again?

Hollowell: Uh, no, for what?

Wildcat: The Pac-10. The third week in a row.

Hollowell: Oh really? I hadn't heard that.

Wildcat: Are you excited?

Hollowell: Uh, yeah, sure (laughs).

Wildcat: Not even halfway through your sophomore year, you've already won it eight times. Are they going to have to name it the Alicia Hollowell Award?

Hollowell: (Laughs) No, I think Pac-10 award.

Wildcat: Even you have to be excited about striking out 20 of 21 batters, right?

Hollowell: Honestly, I didn't even realize it was that much until the end of the game, when they were standing there doing the Ks, and I was like, "Oh, OK."

Wildcat: Were you counting them up?

Hollowell: Not really. I don't know, everyone was like, "Oh, you got 20 out of 21."

Wildcat: Do you ever keep track of them?

Hollowell: No.

Wildcat: What does it feel like to get that many strikeouts?

Hollowell: You know, honestly, it doesn't feel any different than any other game. I wasn't thinking of it any differently. I was just trying to go out and take it one batter at a time and just play well. It was a win for us, and that's what counts.

Wildcat: I saw that your birthday (Feb. 29) was last week. How do you normally celebrate it?

Hollowell: Usually I do it both the 28th and the 1st, when there is not a leap year, so people have plenty of time to get me presents. When it is leap year, we just have a big party on the 29th.

Wildcat: Is that where you get your super powers from?

Hollowell: Yeah, I guess you could say that (laughs).

Wildcat: I asked Bre Ladd, in another Athlete of the Week, if she got like a card or anything (Hollowell laughs) to get free Gatorade because she was Gatorade National Player of the Year. You didn't, did you?

Hollowell: No, people always thought I did, though. Like everyone thought I got all kinds of free Gatorade stuff. Nope, never did.

Wildcat: What's your favorite kind of Gatorade?

Hollowell: Fruit punch.

Wildcat: Who are you more excited about playing: USA (No. 1), UCLA or Cal (the team that knocked the UA out of the World Series last year)?

Hollowell: I would probably say USA, just to have (UA and USA head) coach (Mike Candrea) back here. We're at home and I played with a lot of those girls during the summer, so just being able to see them, having them around, because they're fun people to be with.

Wildcat: Do you think you can beat them?

Hollowell: Yeah.

Wildcat: Why number 44?

Hollowell: Well, forever until I got into high school, I was number 77, and then when I got in high school, they didn't have number 77. To order a special jersey was going to cost us, so my coach was like, "Here, we have 44," and that ended up being my number in high school, and I kept it here.

Wildcat: Now that there is a pro league, are you going to give any thought to leaving early?

Hollowell: No (laughs).