Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Curve first baseman Brenden Dixon slides as he pulls in a pop-up from Richmond’s Aeverson Arteaga in foul territory.

The Altoona Curve lost both ends of Friday night’s doubleheader against the Richmond Flying Squirrels with a 2-1 loss in game 1 followed by a 7-4 loss in game 2 in front of 4,570 fans at PNG Field.

Richmond reliever Braxton Roxby was once one of the thousands of fans at the ballpark as he grew up coming to PNG Field and hailing from Johnstown. It was always a nice, easy ride to the ballpark no matter what the occasion.

On Wednesday, Roxby wasn’t watching the game through the protective netting, he was in the game, on the mound and pitching for the Flying Squirrels, something he never thought was possible.

“I remember one of my good buddies that I grew up with at his birthday party was here when I was young,” Roxby recalled. “I don’t really remember any of the players that were playing at the time or at that point. I don’t even know if I had a dream of playing in professional baseball or in the big leagues or anything like that, but it was just awesome to be here and now that I’m here and playing, it’s a completely different environment, and it’s incredible.”

Roxby tossed the eighth inning and struck out Termarr Johnson as fans stood and watched just like he did many years ago.

To get here, it was far from easy, and it was a road that took him from playing travel ball with Flood City to the University of Pitt-Johnstown, where he was a late bloomer. But along the way, he’s certainly had an impact on those he was around.

“I’m happy for him. It’s been a long path for him to get there,” former Pirate Mike Connolly said.

Connolly coached Roxby while he was playing for Flood city and saw firsthand the work Roxby put in to get better and get noticed.

While with Flood City and even at Pitt-Johnstown, playing professional baseball was on the backburner until he started taking his off-the-field work more seriously that playing professionally became a possibility.

“It wasn’t until maybe the summer after my freshman year, right before going into my sophomore year that I started to take training a little bit more seriously,” Roxby said. “I gained some good weight, got some velocity and was figuring out a breaking ball, all things that kind of led me to start believing that I could do it.”

Those thoughts and dreams became a reality in 2020 when the Cincinnati Reds signed him as a minor league free agent.

He spent four years in the Reds organization before being traded ahead of the 2025 campaign to the San Francisco Giants organization.

“The Reds were a great organization. I had a great time playing with them, and met a lot of really good friends, guys that I still keep in touch with today,” Roxby said. “The trade was interesting. I feel like it wasn’t a normal trade, you know, offseason, right before spring training and it kind of took me by surprise. The Giants have treated me well, and it’s nice to be back here playing in Altoona.”

Roxby is living proof that with the right combination of tools and hard work, professional baseball is a possibility for players in this area. He and Trey McGough, who also hails from Johnstown and was a member of the Curve in 2021, have provided that glimmer of hope to baseball players through the region, and that’s not something Roxby takes lightly.

“It means a lot. I play for my family, and I play to represent my area and my school and everybody and everything that’s done something to or sacrificed something to get me to where I’m at today,” Roxby said. “It means everything to me to be able to be out here and compete, and hopefully, to make it to the big leagues, not just for me and my last name, but for everybody that’s done something for me to make sure I’m here and healthy and competing.”

He’s had a spectacular season to this point for the Flying Squirrels as he has a 2-3 record with a 1.04 ERA. He hasn’t given up an earned run since April 26, a 13-game streak.

There’s still plenty of baseball to be played for Roxby, but he knows as someone younger players look up to in the area and beyond, it’s important to empower them and give them advice.

“Give it everything you have,” Roxby said. “I feel like nothing in this world is going to be given to you, and it takes everything you got, plus some luck, some grit and everything that comes along with it.”

Gone cold

The Curve offense struggled on both Thursday and Friday as they finished their suspended game in game 1.

Curve hitters amassed three hits over two nights and scored once on a Nick Cimillo sacrifice fly Thursday prior to the skies opening up and the game being suspended.

“We’re not going to look to make excuses,” Altoona acting manager Gary Green said. “We got to find a way to have tougher at bats grinded bats out foul pitches off for two strikes, and just start grinding at bats more.”

Richmond scored twice in the opening frame on a fly-out and single to give it all the runs it needed.

Just short

The Curve couldn’t rally back from a 7-1 deficit in game 2, ultimately losing 7-4 after a three-run fifth inning and traffic on the basepaths in both the fourth and sixth innings that didn’t score.

“We just, especially lately, we’re really having trouble coming up with big hits,” Green said. “Crawl back into the game, and then we have a chance to get that a little bit later with guys on. We just can’t get it.”

It was the perfect response after a first game that featured a less than stellar offensive afternoon.

“We’ve struggled with the bats some this year so to be able to see those guys not give up and not quit and still battle and get us back in the game, it’s encouraging,” Green said. “You’ve got to try and find positives sometimes when there’s negatives.”

Save for Hudson Head, all Altoona hitters reached base against Richmond in the second game, including Johnson, who recorded three singles and a walk.

Tarp crew

The Curve tarp crew have been on and off the field a countless number of times this week as they battled head-to-head with Mother Nature.

Miraculously, Mother Nature cooperated just enough so that both games could be finished on Friday night.

Up next

Altoona will send LHP Blake Townsend to the mound on Saturday. He hurled four shutout innings in his last outing for the Curve. The team has yet to announce a starter for Sunday’s matchup against the Flying Squirrels.

Next stop

Saturday: Richmond Flying Squirrels at Curve, 6:30 p.m.

Pitchers: Squirrels LHP Joe Whitman (2-6) vs. Curve LHP Blake Townsend (1-1)

Sunday: Richmond Flying Squirrels at Curve, 1 p.m.

Pitchers: Squirrels LHP Michael Bertrand (1-6) vs. Curve TBD