THE SIDELINES : Boy Dies After Being Hit by Pitch

A 10-year-old boy died of cardiac arrest after being hit in the chest by a pitch during a Little League baseball game, authorities said today.

Ryan Wojick went into cardiac arrest when the baseball struck him in the chest near his left armpit during a game Sunday, said Sgt. Gordon Davis of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department.

The incident happened in the fourth inning at the Citrus Park Little League field in Hillsborough County, Davis said. Wojick was up to bat and the pitch was wild, said Wojick’s coach, Fred Bloomingdale.

“Nobody dreamed that it would have come to this,” Bloomingdale said. “He lost his breath, and everyone thought he had the wind knocked out of him,” he said. “He was gasping for air . . . and then he went down on the field.”

Rescuers from a nearby fire rescue station, along with paramedics watching another game, ran onto the field and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Davis said. Wojick was flown by helicopter to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa about 15 miles away, where he died.