The Patriots control this game

It's in their control.

Nothing any other team does can affect Red Land's bid to be Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division champions.

All the Patriots have to do is take care of business. Plain, simple and straightforward.

Red Land, which enters Friday tied for first in the division at 6-1 with Chambersburg, has five games left in the Commonwealth. The stretch starts today at home against Central Dauphin East before the Patriots meet West Shore rival Cedar Cliff at Commerce Bank Park on Saturday.

Then comes a late-afternoon, 5 p.m. start Monday at Chambersburg, the team that downed Red Land, 10-7, April 10.

Central Dauphin ventures to Brandt Cook Field two days later before the Patriots end division play at Cedar Cliff on May 5.

At this point it's a three-team race for the Division between Red Land, Chambersburg and Central Dauphin (5-3). The other four teams all have losing records in the Commonwealth.

The Patriots have the pitching depth with Kyle Otstot, Andrew Hunt and K.C. Beshore to handle the grind but it won't be easy. The bright spot is that Red Land's fate sits squarely in its own hands.