GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) - A high school junior died today, two days after getting hit in the back of his head by a baseball while practicing in a batting cage.

The Dallas medical examiner's office says 17-year-old Chris Gavora died sometime after noon.

On Thursday, the Grapevine High School student was pitching to a teammate in a batting cage at the school. The school says a teammate in a cage behind Gavora -- quote -- "hit a line drive that went through an opening in the net, across an open area, and through the other batting cage's opening."

That ball struck Gavora in the head. Coaches and trainers administered first aid until he was taken by ambulance to a Dallas hospital.

School officials have determined that a secondary protective screen netting that could have stopped the ball was not in place.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AP-NY-02-24-07 2202EST