HIGH VOLTAGE

Spencer Torkelson sparked an Arizona State revival and showcased the type of power that could make him the first college first baseman ever drafted No. 1 overall

- TEDDY CAHILL

The end to the 2020 season came without warning for Spencer Torkelson, as it did for players around the country. On March 12, the day the coronavirus pandemic led the NCAA to take the unprecedented measure of canceling the College World Series, Torkelson and Arizona State were preparing to open Pacific-12 Conference play the following day with a series against Utah.

Coach Tracy Smith gathered the team early in the day and said it looked like the weekend series would be canceled. Disappointed and a little confused, the Sun Devils returned to their homes around campus. A few hours later, the news came out of NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis that the CWS, as well as the rest of the NCAA’s winter and spring championships, had been canceled.

“I was sitting on the couch, not sure what to do because there was no practice,” Torkelson said. “I was on Twitter and saw it. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, did they just do that?’

“Everything else fell from that.”

Within the next few days, the regular season was officially canceled. Torkelson stayed in Phoenix and worked out at the Sun Devils’ facility until the school locked the weight room and batting cage.

Torkelson’s brother Matthew was visiting Spencer during his spring break when his school in New York closed its campus. With Torkelson’s workouts limited to running, the brothers started golfing every day.

“A couple days later, golf was getting old,” Torkelson said. “So we decided to drive home to Petaluma.”