Sixteen-year-old Taylor Dorman, who passed away in April on his birthday, died from cardiac arrest due to an enlarged and weakened heart, the San Diego Medical Examiner reported.
According to the medical examiner, Dorman's cause of death was natural.
The Ramona High School sophomore was in P.E. class on April 10 when he was struck in the chest by a softball during a game of "over-the-line." The teen developed shortness of breath, then became unresponsive and had seizure-type activity after being struck, the medical examiner said.
Life-saving measures were performed on Dorman, who was then airlifted to Palomar Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
At a candlelight vigil held the day after Dorman's death, his mother, Sue Kohler, said Dorman's father passed away two years prior due to heart failure.
Dorman's condition, known medically as "viral myocarditis with dilated cardiomyopathy" is a combination of heart failure and a weakened, enlarged heart.
Dilated cardiomyopathy "can be genetic," according to the medical examiner.
After the teen's death, the community set up a fund to help Kohler and her family.
