On a sunny, quiet afternoon in January, the ASU baseball team hosted the first annual Dingers in the Desert innagural home run derby at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
The event was hosted by Project 34, a non-profit that provides aid to those affected by spinal-cord injuries which was founded by Sun Devil alumni Cory Hahn and Trevor Williams.
In 2011, Hahn suffered a career-ending spinal-cord injury while sliding headfirst into second base during his first season at ASU.
Despite Hahn's injury, he was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 34th round of the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft, a nod to his team number and the namesake for Project 34.
That same year, Williams was also drafted in the second round by the Miami Marlins. Williams went on to play in the majors and has played for the Pittsburgh Pirates since 2016.
Hahn is now a scout for the Diamondbacks and an inspiration to the Sun Devil community.
"If I'm a role model to just one person or being an inspiration to just one person, I think I'm doing a good job," Hahn said. "My goal is to show people that anything is possible and to show people despite some of the troubling things you might go through, you could come out on top."
Among those that participated included the youth division, minor leaguers and ASU's own infielders, sophomore All-American Spencer Torkelson and junior Carter Aldrete.
"I was really excited and honored to be a part of this event," Torkelson said. "It's a beautiful story. Tragedy happened and he could have folded ... he pulled stuff together and he got a group of people and he's making a difference."
Before the home run derby, fans were once again reminded of the friendly rivalry between Torkelson and Aldrete.
Last season, Torkelson broke the Pac-12 freshman home run record with 25, but last summer at the Cape Cod Baseball League Aldrete took the crown 11-10.
Fast forward to earlier this month when the rematch was held, Aldrete was once again crowned the winner 13-12 in extra innings. At the end of it, Torkelson was already eyeing a rematch.
On Saturday, Torkelson sent baseballs flying down the left-field side. Meanwhile, Aldrete would respond with bombs of his own.
Aldrete knocked six out of the park, but Torkelson came out on top with 19 dingers in three minutes, nine with wood and 10 with aluminum.
The overall winner of the Dinger in the Desert was Bobby Balbec, infielder for the Mesa Solar Sox, who won by one home run while D.J. Peterson, who plays for the Louisville Bats, finished second.
However, for the players involved, the event was about more than just baseball.
"I want to make a difference in the world beyond baseball and be a good person," Torkelson said. "That's exactly what Cory (Hahn) and Trevor (Williams) are doing."
Reach the reporter at Edith.Noriega@asu.edu or follow @Noriega_Edith on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
