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Posted on Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 5:30 a.m.

Role players lead Milan baseball team all the way to Battle Creek

By Pete Cunningham

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Milan High School junior Jacob Friese bunts during the fifth inning of the Big Reds' 1-0 win over Coldwater on Tuesday.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com file photo

Robert Barnier hits from the cleanup spot for the Milan High School baseball team, so it should come as no surprise that he scored the game-winning run to put the Big Reds in Friday’s Division 2 state semifinals.

Nor should the fact that he drove in the game-winning run in the regional championship game.

The fact that he did both with bunts maybe should.

But this Milan team goes into Friday’s semifinal against Richmond (Bailey Park, noon) not as a star-driven team, but one of role players.

“They don’t care. We don’t care who does what as long as we get it done,” said head coach Adam Gilles. “We got a lot of guys coming off the bench to pinch run and pinch hit and everybody’s jumping in to help out and that’s how you win.

“Everybody’s just doing what they’re supposed to do.”

True to form, Milan got its only run in the quarterfinals by way of an RBI single that barely reached the outfield grass off the handle of the bat of a freshman, Zach Allen.

Sophomore pitcher/shortstop Thomas Lindeman is the closest thing the Milan has to a star player, with an 8-1 record and .63 ERA in 66 innings pitched on the year - 3-0 with a .32 in 22 innings in the postseason. He’s also hitting .337 with a .420 on-base percentage from the leadoff spot.

But even Lindeman won’t step out of the role of being just role player.

“It feels good for those three seniors in there,” Lindeman said. “I’m just happy we can keep it going for them.”

MHSAA Division 2 Baseball State Championships
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Thomas Lindeman.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com file photo


What: MHSAA Division 2 state semifinals.

Who: Milan (26-12) vs. Richmond (33-4).

Where: Morrison Field at Bailey Park, Battle Creek.

When: Friday, June 14, noon.

Winner plays: Winner of Grand Rapids Christian (17-15) vs. Remus Chippewa Hills (27-7) at C.O. Brown Stadium on Saturday, June 15, 12:30 p.m.

Coverage: Audio broadcast at MHSAANetwork.com.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.