FORT MYERS, Fla. — While playing in the Intercity League for the Lexington Blue Sox on an August night in 2011, Beverly’s Peter Frates was hit with a pitch on the left wrist.

Frates, a Boston College captain out of St. John’s Prep in Danvers, didn’t think much of it at the time. Baseball players are used to being hit. But the pain persisted. And when he went to a doctor, concerns were raised and tests were conducted.