DEER PARK, Texas — We often hear about impact injuries in football, hockey or boxing, but one family almost lost their son earlier this month when he was hit in the chest during a baseball game.

The Frazee family says their 13-year-old son Zach was at one of his many baseball scrimmages with the Deer Park Pony League, when things went wrong.

The game had been going fine, but after about 90 minutes of play, Zach went up to bat, and his coach told him to bunt.

“I set up for the bunt. I saw that (the ball) was coming towards me. Instead of turning my shoulder, I thought I could get out of the way. I tried backing up, and it curved into my chest right her,” Zach recalled.

Zach’s parents were in the stands. They saw him stagger for a few steps and then collapse.

“It’s very obvious there’s no life in him. He’s not breathing, his heart’s not pumping, there’s no pulse,” said Michael Frazee, Zach’s dad. He rushed out to help, with other parents right behind.

Michael Frazee says his son was completely lifeless without a breath or a pulse for five minutes. They thought he was gone.

“The hardest thing is watching your kid collapse like that, and to be thinking the worst, and to not be sure if it’s going to come out well,” Zach’s mom said through tears.

Luckily, a coach from another team, Don Sweeney, happened to be watching the game. The Frazees say Sweeney wasn’t even supposed to be at the field that day. He ran to Zach’s aid and performed CPR, which the Frazees now know is what saved their sons life.

Zach was rushed to the hospital, and was eventually diagnosed with commotio cordis, a rare condition caused by blunt trauma to the heart that happens in such a specific way, it sends patients into immediate cardiac arrest.

I spoke with Dr. Faustino Ramos, a pediatric cardiologist at Memorial Hermann, who didn’t treat Zach specifically, but says Zach likely survived thanks to the immediate CPR he received. Ramos says most victims aren’t as lucky.

The National Commotio Cordis Registry says about 200 cases have been reported, most of which have occurred in male athletes, and about 90 percent of patients are under the age of 25.

Ramos called commotio cordis a “freak accident” type of injury, comparing it to being struck by lightning. He says nothing can truly prevent it from happening, and suffering from the condition has nothing to do with a person’s medical history.

Ramos says the best thing to do is have CPR-certified adults present at all sports, and even better, have an AED on site, in case something like this happens during an activity.

The Frazees have also invested in a chest protector for Zach, that he and many of his teammates will now wear when they play any sport.

Ramos says there’s no guarantee the chest protectors will completely prevent injuries like commotio cordis, but the Frazees feel it’s better than nothing.

The Frazees hope their close call with Zach can benefit other families, and they hope to educate as many parents as they can about the possible dangers young athletes face.