Mooresville’s Michael McClain remains in the intensive care unit at NorthEast Medical Center, but his condition has been upgraded from critical to serious, a hospital spokeswoman said Friday morning.

Mooresville official Frank Owens said that while McClain is heavily sedated and is kept tied down to limit his head and neck movements, he is aware of what’s happened to him.

“He knows what’s going on,” said Owens.

Owens explained that McClain is able to squeeze the hands of his mother and nurses in response to questions. “He squeezes a hand if his answer is yes,” said Owens. “If it’s a no, he doesn’t respond.

“Michael’s certainly not out of the woods yet by any means,” added Owens. “The next few days will tell.”

McClain’s father is a trucker, who obviously won’t be on the road for some time, while his mother is a housewife. Medical expenses will be staggering, Owens said. Anyone who would like to make a contribution to the family may do so by mail to: Post 66 Baseball, c/o Frank Owens, P.O. Box 1201, Mooresville, N.C., 28115.

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CAL-ISTHENTICS:Kannapolis coach Joe Hubbard wears Cal Ripken Jr.’s number (8), pays extra for Baltimore Oriole games on satellite and even named his son, who entered the world during the Legion season a few years ago, Cal.

So the news that living legend Cal Ripken Jr. is hanging them up after this season understandably hit Hubbard as hard as a Randy Johnson fastball.

Hubbard first saw Ripken play back in 1980 at old Crockett Park when Ripken was a member of the Charlotte O’s. That was two years before Ripken was named American League Rookie of the Year.

More recently, Hubbard made an annual pilgrimage to Camden Yards to see his hero.

Hubbard had hoped that Ripken might last long enough that he could take his own Cal to see the future Hall of Famer play.

“Even if he didn’t remember it, one day we could tell him he saw Ripken play,” said Hubbard.

Hubbard said Ripken’s recent retirement announcement has caused a wild run on Oriole tickets and scalper prices for prime seats are headed higher than player salaries. That’s because there are thousands of Ripkenites around the country and every single one of them is determined to see their main man in action one last time.

“My father-in-law usually gets me tickets,” Hubbard said. “Now, I hear scalpers are selling them for $600. I might drive up there anyway when our season’s done and sit in the nosebleeds.”

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LONG SERIES:Playoff series are best 4-of-7 this time around. That’s a big edge for teams like Mocksville and Rowan that have deep pitching staffs.

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YOUNG GUNS:Most of the preseason questions about this year’s Rowan pitching staff have been answered positively by four youngsters — Tyler Morgan, Daniel Cauble, Jason Cauble and Jacob Cooper.

That quartet’s accounted for nine of Rowan’s 20 victories heading into the playoffs.

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DAILEY PLANET:When Salisbury High shortstop Richard Dailey failed to make Rowan’s final cut, it meant that the Hornets again won’t have a representative on the Legion team’s playoff roster.

However, all those days Dailey spent on the team working with the coaches and fellow infielders like Cal Hayes Jr. have to help his high school career down the road.

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BREAKING NEWS:South Rowan lost second baseman Justin Miller when he broke his right hand when he slammed his helmet in frustration after an 0-for-4 night at Statesville.

Miller actually played on after the injury despite some pain and severe swelling, but called it a season — and a career — after X-rays revealed a break.

“I hate it,” said Miller, who’s lofty on-base percentage will be missed in the playoffs. “But it’s my fault. I did it to myself.”

South Rowan High jayvee MVP Gabe Beaver has replaced Miller at second. He had a two-run single Wednesday against Kannapolis.

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GRAHAM’S CRACKING:Mooresville second baseman Justin Graham has been one of the big surprises of the Legion season after struggling with the bat this high school season at West Rowan.

Graham’s been killing the ball all summer, nearly doubling his high school average and is the leadoff man for Whitey Meadow’s team that finished as the Southern Division’s No. 2 seed.

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SLICK NICK: Rowan’s Nick Lefko’s been tremendous defensively in center field in Legion ball after turning in a terrific high school defensive campaign as an East Rowan right fielder.

“They say you put your strongest arm in right,” said Lefko. “But at Newman Park, you get a lot more chances to use your arm in center. I like it. There’s lots of room to roam.”

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STANLEY STEAMED: Mocksville slugger Casey Stanley was knocked right off his seat on an outside-the-dugout upturned bucket when a foul ball off the bat of teammate Justin Paschal nearly nailed him on his recent visit to Newman Park.

Stanley was ribbed by his teammates and the crowd, but had the last laugh with a homer and three of Mocksville’s five hits.

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