College baseball history was made Thursday night.
Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkleson smashed his 12th home run of the season in his team's loss to Washington State (WSU 8, ASU 7), breaking Barry Bonds' record for home runs by a freshman. Torkleson hit those 12 homers in only 25 games. Here is the record-breaking homer:
"I knew I had it in me to do what I've been doing, but I'd never really done that before," said Torkleson to Jeff Metcalfe of the Arizona Republic. "I'm putting my best swing on every pitch I get."
Bonds, who also played his college ball at Arizona State, hit 11 home runs in 64 games as a freshman in 1983. The Sun Devils still have another 30 regular season games to play this season, meaning Torkleson has plenty of time to pad his freshman record homer total. He might smash the record when it's all said and done.
Torkleson, who went undrafted out of a California high school last year, is hitting .295/.377/.758 with those 12 home runs in 95 at-bats this season. He is tied for second in the nation in home runs, behind Cal's Andrew Vaughn with 13.
NCAA record-keeping is spotty prior to 1965, though no freshman has every led the nation in home runs. Torkleson has a real chance to do it this year.
