West Chester’s Julian Costa has two no-hitters to his credit. He’s ‘putting everything together.’

Julian Costa made some changes ahead of his final season as a pitcher at West Chester University.

It’s a routine any athlete knows well: Look at what worked and what didn’t, and make the necessary adjustments.

The maturity and experience needed to lead a program? The left-hander gained both during his five years with the Golden Rams. The unflappable mentality all teams want their pitchers to have on the mound? Costa was born with it. The physical presence demanded of a collegiate pitcher? Costa put in the work and made the changes to get there.

“Now I’m putting everything together,” said Costa, who stands 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds. “Everything’s working. Everything’s feeling good.”

This season, the South Jersey native has a 7-2 record and a 1.09 WHIP. His three shutouts are the most in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and his 2.53 ERA ranks third.

On March 7, he became the first pitcher in program history to throw two no-hitters in his career in a 5-0 victory at Frostburg State. Last season, he threw West Chester’s first no-hitter since Nicholas Frank did it in 1947.

» READ MORE: St. Joe’s women’s golf is in its first season. Meet the women striving to ‘make a pathway’ for future Hawks.

Two weeks later, Costa broke the West Chester career strikeout record with his 243rd in a 4-1 loss to Mansfield. He now has 269 career strikeouts. Next up is Jeff Brennan’s career win record of 30, and Costa is just one victory away from tying it.

“I’m not really thinking about that much,” said Costa, a Clearview High graduate. “I’m always obviously trying to win games. That’s obviously the goal.”

Being unfazed by the highs and lows has always been Costa’s approach. Rams coach Mike LaRosa said it’s “innate and can’t really be taught.”

LaRosa said while some college pitchers walk off the mound flexing and yelling after a big strikeout, Costa is the opposite.

“He truly is unfazed by anything. If you watch him pitch, regardless of the result, you get the same response in his demeanor and body language all the time,” LaRosa said. “He just carries himself really like a professional, every day.”

Costa says having a competitive self-talk on the mound has always been part of his approach.

“Every time I go out, I always think to myself, the amount of work that I put in throughout these years, and even in the fall, there’s no reason why I should go out and think that I’m not better than the guy in the box,” Costa said. “So, I always think, ‘I worked harder than you, I can get you out.’”

Costa has worked with pitching coach John Fleming to continue refining his approach to the game.

In his first two seasons, he was a two-way player, pitching and playing first base. After his sophomore season, Costa and his coaches had a discussion about him moving into a pitching-only role. That’s when LaRosa said he saw Costa’s development on the mound start to take off.

But the biggest change for Costa has been a physical one, working to dedicate himself to the right nutrition plan. “Because he’s carrying better weight, he’s able to go deeper in games,” Fleming said. “His stamina is better. His body mass is better. So that is all equal to success, because he’s able to do more with his body.”

» READ MORE: Chase Swain’s full-circle journey saw him return to La Salle for his final year of college baseball

Said LaRosa: “He’s our best pitcher, and he’s our hardest worker on the staff, and he has the right mindset all the time. When you have those types of things, it’s easy for the other guys to buy in to what we try and do and to follow his lead.”

LaRosa said Costa will be the first to admit that three years ago, he had no desire to be captain because he “felt like that wasn’t him.” The coaching staff had to help him realize his teammates were going to watch and follow his lead, whether he had the title or not.

This year, Costa approached his coaches to tell them he wanted to be a captain.

In his last season with the Golden Rams, he is setting an example for the players coming up behind him, the same way previous players did for him in what Fleming called the “brotherhood” of West Chester baseball.

Fleming said Braeden Fausnaught, who now pitches in the Phillies system, is a big resource for Costa.

“He’s always doing something to help himself get there, and I realized it’s not going to be a little walk in the park, it’s going to be really tough to get there,” Costa said. “I just thought if I work hard enough, just like he has, I feel like I could definitely be there.”

Costa hopes his continued success with the Golden Rams and some exposure in a draft league in the summer can help him continue playing after his time at West Chester is done.

“It’s been a fun journey watching him grow over the last five years,” Fleming said. “From coming in as a freshman, wide-eyed, thinking he can conquer the world, to now, he is conquering the world.”

For now, the focus remains on the season in front of Costa and the road to Cary, N.C., for the NCAA Division II championship.

Up next, the Rams (29-8) will play Jefferson in the Bill Giles Invitational championship at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday at 1 p.m. Costa and West Chester are seeking their fifth consecutive title in the tournament.