Generals swinging some hot bats now quarter-inch Milwaukee no He second, regular AllAmerican MiniStock 50 Well, lo and behold, the Virginia Generals have put together some hot hitting going into the second half of the season. Kent Headley has hit safely. in 15 of his last 19 games (.333), raising his batting average to .282, leading the team. Shortstop Stu Cole, injured in Thursday's game against the Salem Buccaneers, is 6-for-17 in his last four games. He has a .281 average in 33 games. Deric Ladnier was the Generals' hottest batter, hitting in 10 straight games before his streak was stopped by Salem's Ben Webb and Steve Adams. During that stretch, Ladnier was 13-for37 (.351). Ladnier has brought his average up to .253 and leads the team in home runs with five. Angel Morris, who played third base for the first time this season on Thursday, has hit in seven of his last eight games (12-for-38). Tom Johnson, tied with Ladnier for the team lead in doubles (10) and RBIs (25), has added a hot stick to an already hot glove. He has seven hits in his last 17 at bats. WHEN MARK Parnell, 22, signed with the Generals Thursday, he became the first athlete out of Christopher Newport College to sign a professional contract. Parnell's record with CNC, which went 10-25 last season, doesn't tell the whole story. For the Captains, he was 4-6 with a 5.05 ERA. He still managed to strike out 79 batters in 82 innings and set a career record for the Captains by striking out 177. He might not be a bad pinchhitter or designated hitter (remember Rick Rhoden of the New York Yankees last week) for Manager Joe Breeden. He hit .306 for the Captains with five home runs. TRAINER JIM Stricek has given starter Ernie Radcliffe the nod to start throwing again. Radcliffe injured the trapezius muscle in his throwing arm and was out of the lineup for over a week. "He can start throwing but we don't want to rush him or anything," said Stricek. BEFORE THURSDAY'S, game, the Generals' pitching staff had given up only two earned runs in the last 16 innings. SALEM, ENDING a threegame series with the Generals tonight at War Memorial Stadium, is tied with Winston-Salem with a team average of .260 for the lead league. The Bucs lead the league in homers with 62; that's 14 ahead of Durham. After clinching the Northern Division, Salem sent two players - Kevin Burdick and Rick Reed to the Pirates' AA team in Harrisburg, Pa. Burdick was hitting .329 with nine homers and was 14-for-30 in his last seven games before the move. Reed was 6-2 with a 2.74 ERA in 15 games. The Buccaneers have won 25 of their last 34 games. THE SOUTHERN Division is building to a dramatic first-half ending. Kinston now has : a onegame lead over Durham. Thursday night, the teams split a doubleheader. Durham will be in town Sunday for a three-game series with the Generals to start the second half. BALLOTING HAS begun for the Carolina League all-star game, this year at Kinston's Grainger Stadium on July 20. Managers, general managers and sportswriters will select the players. For ticket information, contact the Indians' front office at (919) 527-9111. INTERESTING LITTLE tidbits: Lynchburg's Paul Devlin hit a home run at Durham Athletic Park recently as the Red Sox beat the Bulls 15-2. The movie "Bull Durham" opened the following night in Durham and Devlin, who has a nonspeaking part in the movie, hit a homer on screen Durham has ... yet to lose on a Tuesday. Next Tuesday they will be in Hampton ... Durham was the first team to go over 100,000 this season in attendance. THE EVER-QUOTABLE Buddy Mercado, Generals' pitching coach, on the threat of rain before Thursday's game: "It's that cloud that follows us wherever we go." Terry Armour CL notes