Griffin Michael was bothered by a painful hand injury this spring and wasn't sure how much he'd be able to swing the bat for the Kennedy Cougars this season.

As it turns out, he's swinging quite well.

Michael slugged a grand slam and pitched a complete game Tuesday night as the top-ranked Cougars spanked Prairie, 12-2, in five innings in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at Kennedy.

Michael had a problem with the hamate bone on his left (non-throwing) hand, but the injury improved and he's been in the lineup all season. He's hitting .375 in the cleanup spot with 15 RBIs in 12 games.

"My swing has been pretty good lately," he said. "I'm a little disappointed in my defense so far, but the swing has been all right."

Michael is Kennedy's starting shortstop when he isn't pitching, but he's sprung a leak with nine errors already (including a throwing error from the mound Monday).

"Just a couple of early errors and it got a little bit in my head, but I'm good to go now," he said.

Michael struck out eight batters and allowed only four hits, including singles to the first two batters in the game. The Hawks came out swinging against his fastball, but he began putting them away with a nasty curveball.

Michael is 2-1 with a 1.37 ERA, with 22 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings.

Prairie (5-7, 2-4) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Michael hit his grand slam in the bottom of the first for a 4-1 edge to get the Cougars started.

Austin Christensen continued his phenomenal hitting for Kennedy (10-2, 5-1). He went 3-for-3 with another home run, his seventh in 12 games. Christensen is 23-for-35 this season for a lusty .657 batting average with seven homers and 20 RBIs.

Terrell Sykes went 2-for-4 for Kennedy with two RBIs. David Yancey was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

The Cougars are scheduled to host Ottumwa Wednesday night, part of a busy stretch of 10 games in nine days. The stretch includes a twinbill at No.8 Fort Dodge on Saturday, another twinbill at No.9 Dubuque Hempstead on Monday and a single game at No.7 Davenport Central next Tuesday.

"It will be tough for us. It will be good for us," Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer said. "It will make us better by the time July rolls around. Our guys will have been tested."

Prairie is going through a tough stretch as well. The Hawks dropped a doubleheader at Xavier last Friday, lost at Southeast Polk on Saturday, dropped back-to-back games to Kennedy and host Class 3A No. 3 Dubuque Wahlert on Friday.

Jason Velvick had two hits for the Hawks against Kennedy.

PRAIRIE (2)
Velvick, cf, 3 2 2 0, Hammer, 1b, 2 0 1 1, Utley, p, 2 0 1 1, Allard, cr, 0 0 0 0, Alberts, p, 0 0 0 0, Gagliardi, rf, 2 0 0 0, B. Carlson 2 0 0 0, Butz, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Boots, lf, 2 0 0 0, D. Carlson, c, 2 0 0 0, Mougin, ss, 2 0 0 0. Totals 19 2 4 2.

KENNEDY (12)
Sykes, 2b, 4 1 2 2, Jacobus, ss, 2 2 0 0, Christensen, rf, 3 3 3 1, Michael, p, 2 1 1 4, Hayden, cr, 0 1 0 0, Yancey, lf, 3 1 2 2, Bell, 3b, 1 1 0 0, Winters, pr, 0 0 0 0, Maiers, c, 2 0 0 1, Jahlas, cf, 3 1 0 0, Benson, dh, 2 1 1 1, Ambrosy, 1b, 0 0 0 0. Totals 22 12 9.

Prairie       101 00 -   2 4 4
Kennedy   401 16 - 12 9 1

Utley, Alberts (5) and D. Carlson. Michael and Maiers. W - Michael (2-1). L - Utley (1-2). 2B - Benson. HR - Christensen (7). SB - Velvick.