Blake Townsend

The 5,013 fans at PNG Field Sunday afternoon were sent home in style with a 4-2 Altoona Curve victory over the Richmond Flying Squirrels in the last regular-season home game of the season.

Altoona’s win clinched a playoff spot for the Curve as they maintained their four-game lead over Erie for the Eastern League Southwestern Division second-half championship.

By way of the Seawolves’ first-half championship, Altoona locked up its spot with Richmond being 6¢ games back with six games remaining. It marks the first time since 2018 that the Curve will be heading to the postseason.

The Curve will host Erie on Tuesday, Sept. 16 in the first game of a best-of-three series with games 2 and 3 at Erie on Sept. 18 and 19, if necessary.

“You’re happy for the guys,” Altoona manager Andy Fox said. “They’ve been busting their tails since mid-February, getting ready and to see them rewarded by winning this thing. I mean, sure you’d like to get it done early, but winning’s winning, and I mean, watching these guys, how excited they are. I mean, it’s worth it.”

Blake Townsend tossed four shutout innings while getting run support in both the third and fourth innings.

In the third, three straight singles set up an RBI groundout by Esmerlyn Valdez to plate the first run. The Curve plated two in the third to give Townsend a 3-0 cushion.

“It was super important to get the ball rolling early,” Townsend said. “And luckily, I’ve got a good field behind me that supported me the whole way. I think it really just set the tone, and the boys got the bats going as well. It ended up perfect.”

Sunday’s win was a perfect team win for Townsend and company as the bullpen withstood a rally in the seventh that saw the Flying Squirrels score two runs.

Much like they’ve done all season, the Curve responded and scored in the eighth when Termarr Johnson took home on a wild pitch.

“It puts a little stamp on the season for us,” Fox said. “It’s been a team effort. Everybody in this clubhouse, and even the ones not here anymore had a part in this. It takes a team to win. We were able to — we were able to finish it off.”

It did not always seem as though Altoona was destined for the postseason especially after a 30-38 start in the first half. The Curve have gone 38-25 in the second half to be able to clinch a spot in the playoffs.

“This is what you play for,” Townsend said. “It’s the little memories like this that we’re gonna cherish forever, and doing it with this group is super special.”

While memories have been made, there’s still a lot of baseball left to be played as Altoona heads to Erie for the final six games of the regular season and an opportunity to win the second-half championship outright.

“We’re not going to change our message that we’ve done since day one of spring training, just playing good baseball,” Fox said. “Obviously, being smart with guys here in the last week, and being able to give some guys some rest. We’re going to play good baseball and see what happens.”

Award winners

Ahead of Sunday’s game, the Curve announced their award winners for the 2025 season.

Nick Cimillo was named the team’s Most Valuable Player, Alessandro Ercolani was named Pitcher of the Year, Justin Meis was named the team’s Fireman of the Year, and Mitch Jebb was named the Unsung Hero.

Saturday’s game

Trailing 5-1 in the eighth inning, the Curve rallied for four runs to tie the game Saturday night and force extra innings.

Konnor Griffin hit a home run and then scored again during the rally. Omar Alfonzo had two RBIs, including one in the 10th, but it was not enough as Altoona fell 7-6.

Up next

Altoona heads to Erie for a six-game series to wrap up the regular season.