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A Seton Hall baseball player went from the top of the world to the bottom in an instant.
In Seton Hall’s season opener, Justin Ford blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning against Boston College at the Puerto Rico Challenge in Ponce.
Ford turned toward his dugout while heading for second base and gave a celebratory hop and fist pump, 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 on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (Norm Hall/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
When he landed, Ford’s left ankle sprained awkwardly, resulting in a gruesome injury.
The Asbury Park Press reported that Ford was replaced by a pinch runner who completed his home run to officially give the Pirates a 4-3 lead.
It was a lead Seton Hall could not hold on to. The Eagles scored two runs in the top of the seventh and then one more in the eighth to win by a 6-4 final.
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 get much going, 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 junior season in 2026 appears to be over just as it started.
Seton Hall will face Manhattan College on Saturday and then NC State Sunday to finish 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, Ariz. (Jacob Snow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The contest was also the first for Boston College, which will host Houston and Washington before returning to the States.
