With Sore Wrist as a Hang-Up, Hagen Loses Her Connection

There was no stopping Marina third baseman Carrie Hagen the first two weeks of the season. In her first six games, she batted .667, going 12 for 18 with three home runs. But she hasn’t been the same since being hit on the left wrist by Irvine pitcher Kari Singley.

“It’s been totally frustrating,” Hagen said of the deep bone bruise. “I’m popping up, I can’t bunt . . . I just go out and play defense and do what I can do. The season started off awesome and it’s gone downhill. If I get on base, it’s amazing.”

Hagen went three for six Saturday as Marina took second place in the Woodbridge Warrior Classic, but the differences at the plate have been obvious, even though she is batting a respectable .358 since the injury, .437 overall.

“She was roping shots, doubles, home runs,” Coach Shelly Luth said. “She might get on base now with four grounders, but at the beginning of the year, she was really connecting.”

Hagen, a junior, scored eight runs and had five RBIs in her first six games, but has only 13 runs and one RBI in her last 18. The RBI came Saturday against Aliso Niguel.

She is still batting leadoff for Marina, which is 17-5 and ranked third in Orange County.

“There’s a lot of pain trying to play through this,” Hagen said. “I haven’t been doing too good, but the only thing I can do is to try my hardest.

“I don’t worry about it if it’s hurting me--I’ll worry later. My hitting, hopefully, will come along.”

BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE

Esperanza found a star last week in Molly Denkler.

The diminutive freshman was called up to the varsity from junior varsity for the Michelle Carew Classic, and wore the uniform of shortstop Jennifer Coffey, who was in Hawaii. In Coffey’s absence, Denkler led off for the Aztecs and went eight for 14 with two triples and a home run, the latter a two-run shot that beat eighth-ranked Los Alamitos in a semifinal.

“Definitely, the biggest week I’ve ever had,” said Denkler, who also had three hits in a victory over 10th-ranked El Dorado. “This is waaay important.”

Said Coach Dennis Fox: “She was always slated to be on varsity, but she’s a social butterfly, and we put her on JV to get that ‘socialness’ out of her. She didn’t have a bad attitude or anything.

“She’s not going back down.”

AROUND THE BASES

* Colleen Burdick, a second-team all-county pitcher last season at Fountain Valley, quit the team. A second baseman this season who batted leadoff, Burdick had hovered around .200. She did not play for the Barons at last week’s Warrior Classic, where Fountain Valley--then ranked third in the county--lost its pool-play games to No. 5 Pacifica, 1-0, and unranked Santa Margarita, 1-0. The Barons finished 17th in the 24-team tournament and now are ranked seventh.

“I really don’t have any comment, it was a personal decision on her part,” Coach Cary Baker said. “I don’t think we’re affected one way or the other by it. She made a decision to not play; we’re going to go forward from there.”

Baker said Burdick hit about .200 during the season, .400 in league.

* Rosary came within one out of defeating top-ranked Foothill in a semifinal of the Michelle Carew Classic. Pinch-hitter Sarah Boardman had an RBI single, and the game-winning hit belonged to Jessica Reiten, who came off the bench after Amber Dragomir hurt her hand. But the Royals, unranked a week earlier, got Foothill’s attention.

“Everyone on our team was like, ‘Have you heard of them? Who plays for them?’ ” Foothill cleanup hitter Kristen Mann said after the 2-1 win over Rosary. “They’re very disciplined. We were pretty shocked.”

A victory over Mater Dei, plus an earlier victory over Moreno Valley Valley View, indicated Rosary was in the habit of slaying Southland softball giants.

“Too bad Foothill’s not ranked No. 1 in the nation,” quipped Rosary Coach Tom Tice of the state’s No. 4 team. “We had trouble getting up for them.”

LOOKING AHEAD

It’s a critical week for Esperanza. The Aztecs, fourth in the Sunset League but on a roll right now, play at Fountain Valley today and at Los Alamitos on Thursday. It’s also a big week for first-place Los Alamitos, which plays at Marina today.

Woodbridge can take a big step toward a 17th consecutive league title. Tied for first with Irvine, the rivals play at Heritage Park on Wednesday. The Warriors, hoping to avenge their only Sea View League loss, play at Laguna Hills on Friday.

El Modena plays at Foothill today in a Century League showdown. Third-place Garden Grove tries to create a tie for second place when it hosts Rancho Alamitos on Thursday at Mark Twain School.

If you have an item or idea for the prep softball report, you can fax us at (714)966-5663 or e-mail us at martin.henderson@latimes.com