Heading into Friday night’s contest against the Aberdeen Ironbirds, the Crosscutters find themselves second in the MLB Draft League with a 13-6 record, two and a half games behind a bolting Trenton Thunder team whose 16-4 overall record is as monstrous as their reputation.

Trenton, as a ballclub, is a team rich with history. A longtime minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees, Trenton comes in year in and year out with an expectation to win. The history, the uniform, the 6,000-plus fans that pack into the ballpark.

Everything about Trenton screams a club with a winning tradition.

It is an attitude that, last year, Williamsport never seemed to grasp. A team that finished plum last in three straight half seasons and five of the last six, the success that the Crosscutter ballclub has had has come few and far in between.

The Crosscutters celebrate a win against Mahoning Valley at Bowman Field. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

But when you look at Williamsport’s 2026 first-half season, the team feels different.

The clubhouse seems more lively, the ball hits the bat differently, the pitches find the zone better.

In short, Williamsport’s 2026 first-half team seems like, at the very least, a team deserving to be in the pennant race.

The previous midweek series, which saw the Crosscutters host their in-state rival State College Spikes, expanded on this better than words ever could.

State College, who came into Williamsport 10-8 only to leave 10-10 after a two-game stretch, are a side with a ton of individual accolades and brilliance. With talent up and down both the lineup and the pitchers mound, the Spikes are a scrappy team that is primed to cause an upset or two to some of the contenders in the league.

The Crosscutters celebrate a win against Mahoning Valley at Bowman Field. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

In the series, the Crosscutters would win both contests in two very different ways, showcasing the teams ability to take down opponents in a versatile fashion.

In Tuesday’s 12-3 clobbering over the Spikes, the Cutters would take advantage of early mistakes and misfires. With a four-run first inning and a five-run third that saw State College commit a multitude of walks and errors along the way. The early taking advantage of mistakes, parlayed with a stellar seven for 15 mark with runners in scoring position led to the easy victory.

But solid teams know how to respond, and the Spikes would do so the next day jumping out to a 4-3 lead after the third inning. But Williamsport would respond as they’ve done all season, with a comeback victory capped off by a Brodey Acres go ahead single in the sixth inning to give Williamsport a 6-5 lead that they would never relinquish.

And that shows the versatility of the 2026 Cutters. A team that, no matter the score or situation, is willing and able to punish opposing team mistakes while creating some of their own. From first pitch to final out, the Crosscutters always seem in it.

And while Trenton remain the heavy favorites to come out of the MLB Draft League first half victorious, Williamsport have proved scrappy enough to make a run at it themselves.

Unfortunately for the Crosscutters, their only series against Trenton ended in a two-game sweep to start the year. For the Crosscutters to steal the first half and clinch a birth to the MLB Draft League championship in September, they will need to make up two and a half games with three Aberdeen games, two West Virginia Black Bear contests and a four game home-and-home series vs. State College to finish off the first half.