BOY'S DEATH PROBED : BASEBALL HIT HIM AT ENCINO CAMP.

Byline: Jeanne Mariani-Belding Daily News Staff Writer

The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office is investigating the death of a 10-year-old boy after he was hit by a baseball during a weeklong summer baseball camp in Encino.

Forensics experts are examining the brain tissue of 10-year-old Zachary Stutman of Brentwood to determine what caused his death two weeks ago, said Craig Harvey, chief of investigations for the Coroner's Office.

``He was hit with a ball in either the neck area or the base of the head. Apparently, it was the second strike by a ball during a short period of time,'' Harvey said Thursday.

``From what we know, the ball was not moving very fast, but it doesn't take a 100-mph projectile to cause serious injury or death. It just takes the right set of circumstances,'' he said.

The boy had been a ``hard-charging, healthy 10-year-old,'' and had no pre-existing medical conditions, Harvey said.

``It's just real sad. You're not supposed to die from playing a national pastime,'' Harvey said.

Results of the study that will determine the exact cause of Zachary's death are expected in two to three weeks, according to Harvey.

The boy's death is the first serious injury at the Baseball Development Center's camp, which started last year, said Robert Selan, the center's president and a co-founder.

``I feel terrible,'' Selan said. ``There's not much we can do at this point. We had sufficient staffing and expertise, there were three counselors on the field when this occurred, and we had a nurse at the site and 911 was called within five seconds.''

Zachary was on the playing field June 28, the last day of camp in his session, and had just fielded a grounder and tossed the ball into the infield when he collapsed, according to Selan.

It's not clear where Zachary was hit, although there were some eyewitness accounts that the ball appeared to brush up against his neck, Selan said.

Zachary was rushed to a local hospital, where he died the next day, officials said.

``The kid collapsed on the field. We don't know exactly what happened, and until we get the official report from the coroner or a doctor I'm not going to try to guess what happened,'' Selan said.

The $310-per-week baseball training camp offers sessions for children 8 to 13 years old where they learn everything from the fundamentals of baseball to good sportsmanship, Selan said.

The camp runs weekly at Encino Field on Hayvenhurst Avenue from June through August with about 100 campers participating each week, he added.

Selan said that while the incident is tragic, no changes in procedures or policies are necessary.