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A Seton Hall baseball player went from the top to the bottom of the world in the blink of an eye.
In Seton Hall’s season opener, Justin Ford hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning against Boston College at the Puerto Rico Challenge in Ponce.
Ford turned toward his dugout as he headed toward second base and threw a celebratory jump and punch, but the jump proved disastrous.
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Seton Hall players stand on the base path during the singing of the national anthem before the 2025 Desert Invitational game against Austin Peay State University at Salt River Fields Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photos by Norm Hall/MLB via Getty Images)
Once he landed, Ford’s left ankle buckled awkwardly, resulting in a gruesome injury.
The Asbury Park Press reported that Ford was replaced by a pinch runner who completed his home run trot to officially give the Pirates a 4-3 lead.
It was a lead that Seton Hall couldn’t hold on to. The Eagles scored two runs in the top of the seventh, then another in the eighth to win by a final 6-4.
A pile of baseballs before the start of the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. (Steven Branscombe/USA Today Sports)
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Ford played in 15 games last year and struggled to do much of anything, hitting .175. He owned a .358 on-base percentage thanks to 11 walks and one hit by pitch in his 53 plate appearances.
However, his 2026 junior season appears to be ending as it began.
Seton Hall will face Manhattan College on Saturday and then NC State on Sunday to conclude their trip to Puerto Rico.
A pile of baseballs during a college baseball game between the North Dakota State Bison and the Arizona Wildcats on March 10, 2018, at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona. (Jacob Snow/Sportswire Icon via Getty Images)
It was also the first contest for Boston College, which will face Houston and Washington before returning to the United States.
