Williams Joins 20-20 Club as Bulls Beat Rip Redbirds 4-2
IL Durham Bulls

Williams Joins 20-20 Club as Bulls Beat Rip Redbirds 4-2

Published on August 10, 2025 under International League (IL)
Durham Bulls News Release


MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Brian Van Belle stymied Memphis for his second straight start as the Durham Bulls beat the Redbirds 4-2 in their road trip finale on Sunday afternoon at AutoZone Park.

Van Belle (W, 8-5), who was acquired in the Zack Littell trade with the Cincinnati Reds on July 30th, tossed five scoreless on four hits five days after throwing one-hit ball across six frames on Tuesday.

Coco Montes homered in the third to put Durham (22-14) up 1-0, then was hit on the arm with the bases loaded in the fifth as the lead ascended to 2-0. Hunter Stovall later delivered a sac fly for a 3-0 cushion.

The Redbirds (18-21) scored twice in the sixth against Garrett Acton and then threatened against reliever Evan Reifert in the seventh. With runners at second and third and one out, Reifert froze JJ Wetherholt on a 3-2 pitch, then Joe Rock entered to retire the left-handed Nathan Church on a one-hop smash to third baseman Stovall. Rock threw a scoreless eighth then Joey Gerber (S, 1) came on to earn his first save since mid-2024.

Carson Williams homered in the top of the ninth to provide the final margin, his 20th of the season.

How It Happened: The Bulls went ahead in the third on Montes' seventh home run of the year, taking out Aaron Wilkerson to left-center. In the fifth, Williams and Tanner Murray singled ahead of a walk to Kenny Piper. Montes then was hit on the arm on the first pitch to force Williams in. Stovall then delivered a sac fly to right for a 3-0 lead.

Van Belle's Memphis Residency: Van Belle faced six of the same Memphis hitters from his Tuesday one-hit appearance. Van Belle in total threw 11 scoreless innings on five hits with two walks and eight strikeouts since the Rays acquired him from the Reds on July 30th.

20-20 Club: Willliams' ninth inning homer against Chris Roycroft netted him his third consecutive 20 homer, 20 stolen base year. The only year Williams did not achieve a 20-20 campaign was in 2022, his first full pro season, when he came up one homer short with the Charleston River Dogs in low-A. Williams has 20 homers and 21 steals with the Bulls with another 36 games remaining in the regular season.

What's Next: The Bulls closed out their two week road trip 6-5 through Gwinnett and Memphis and return to the DBAP on Tuesday night against the Nashville Sounds. Yoniel Curet (0-1, 4.50) is slated to make his second Triple-A start for Durham at 6:35 PM ET. The Bulls picked up two games in two days on first place Syracuse, and will start Tuesday night 5 1/2 behind Scranton and Syracuse atop the IL.

Check out the Durham Bulls Statistics



International League Stories from August 10, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central