With the anticipation and the anxiety of a new season, an ace can make or break the early momentum of the new campaign, further adding to the importance of the man that picks up the ball first.

For the Williamsport Crosscutters, who closed out the first half campaign with 11 straight losses, the role couldn’t be more important for Wednesday night’s second-half season opener. But while Williamsport found itself unable to get back to winning ways, it is clear that they have a stalwart ace in Colton Cosper.

A native of Carrollton, Georgia, Cosper had never pitched for a school or program outside of the Peach State, with the 6-foot, 1-inch left hander spending all four collegiate seasons with Mercer in Atlanta. Staying in his home state, Cosper was a longtime starter for the Bears, pitching his last three collegiate seasons as a starter, with the lefty even taking the reins as a long arm reliever in his freshman year.

Cosper would show remarkable improvement in his four years with Mercer. After finishing his freshman and sophomore years with an ERA north of six, the Carrollton native would post a 4.35 earned run average as a junior and, in 2025, a career best 3.57 mark across 16 appearances and 15 starts.

Colton Cosper of the Williamsport Crosscutters throws during the first inning against the Thunder at Bowman Field. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Leading the way as Mercer’s ace, Cosper helped lead the Bears to a 35-25 record, with the Georgia school making it all the way to the SoCon semifinals. Cosper, appropriately, helped get the Bears there in an 8-6 win against Wofford that had the lefty go 140 pitches in a complete game win.

The uptick in quality, reliability at the mound, and workhorse mentality led the Georgian to Williamsport, with manager Kenny Thomas giving him the nod to start out the second-half season against the Trenton Thunder.

In Wednesday’s appearance, spectators saw a little bit of every aspect that got Cosper here, from his relentless pitching to grinding through innings.

The oohs and aahs were apparent early with Cospar waving four batters in the first two innings, striking out the side entirely in the second inning.

The third inning would showcase his ability to grind out innings. After conceding three hits in the first four at bats, a hit by pitch would score Trenton’s opening run. But with the bases loaded and one out, that was all Trenton would score with Cosper forcing a double play from former Cutter John Schroeder to limit the damage.

The fourth and fifth innings would be drama free from there with Trenton getting just one runner on base out of seven at bats with none moving further than first.

Having not pitched since the college season in May, Cosper would be relieved after five innings pitched, with just one run and four hits allowed, the Georgian would throw eight strikeouts without giving up a single walk.

As far as first impressions go, it couldn’t have gone much better than that.

“He controlled the game,” said Williamsport Crosscutter manager Kenny Thomas. “He hadn’t pitched in a while, so we didn’t want to stretch him too far. But I thought he did a great job.”

Cosper uses a unique arsenal in his pitches, with a fastball that tops in the high 80s, a changeup in the low 80s, a slider that can work from the left side of the plate to the right, with a curveball or two thrown in the mix.

“He’s a guy that doesn’t throw extremely hard, but it looks harder than it is,” echoed Thomas. “And he is very crafty. He holds runners really well… he kept us right in the ballgame.”

Cosper’s efficiency couldn’t keep Williamsport from breaking their losing streak dating back to the first half, with the 8-3 setback marking 12 straight losses for Billtown.

But in the aftermath of a brutal opening season loss, there is clarity that Williamsport has their ace for the second half.