Updated 4:10 p.m.

BATTLE CREEK -- Defense may win championships, but a little bit of offense is needed too.

The Milan High School baseball team just couldn't muster enough of it on Friday and fell short of a state championship berth with 3-2 loss to Richmond in the Division 2 state semifinals at Bailey Park's Morrison Field.

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Trailing 3-1 in the top of the seventh, Milan was able to load the bases with no outs, but came up one run shy of extending the game.

Down to their last out with runners on first and second, one of the team’s three seniors, Robert Barnier came to the plate for the Big Reds. Barnier had come through in the clutch in consecutive games, scoring the winning run in Tuesday's quarterfinal and bringing home the game winning run with a suicide squeeze in the regional championship.

But fortune didn’t favor Barnier for a third time as a slow grounder up the middle was easily fielded by Richmond to end Milan’s seventh-inning comeback attempt.

“We handled them pretty well. We had them on, we just couldn’t get them in. Couldn’t get the big hit,” said Milan sophomore starting pitcher Thomas Lindeman. “Nothing we haven’t seen before. We just didn’t hit the ball as good as we could.”

The Blue Devils rushed the field in celebration of the program’s first-ever state championship berth, and the face paint on Milan’s player’s faces was suddenly streaking with tears as the Big Reds fell just short of a first berth of their own.

Only three players from Milan’s roster won’t be back next year, but that was little solace at the time.

“It’s hard. We just try to tell them there’s 200 and some odd teams that started in Division 2 and we were one of the four left,” said Milan coach Adam Gilles. “The underclassmen learned what it takes to get here again.

“It was a good game, ball just didn’t bounce our way.”

Lindeman got his third start in six games and was throwing with the same command he had in Tuesday’s quarterfinal and last Saturday’s regional championship games. What he didn’t have, however, was the same stamina. Lindeman loaded the bases in the fourth inning and though he was able to pitch his way out of the jam without giving up any runs, his day was done. He ended the day having given up one run on three hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

“I felt good going in, but after the fourth inning I was dead. I took myself out,” Lindeman said.

Lindeman finished the postseason having surrendered just two runs in 26 innings of work.

“I said ‘Do you want the ball?’ and he said ‘Yes’,” Gilles said. “It just takes, for a sophomore, to step up like that and want the ball and want to be in command, he did a great job of it, only gave up a couple hits, but he definitely got tired.”

Kyle Schrader replaced Lindeman in the fifth inning. Richmond broke open a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning with a pair of runs.

Austin Harvey led off the inning with a single and after a steal was able to score on a single from Evan Kraat. Kraat scored what ended up being a much-needed insurance run later in the inning off of a sacrifice fly from Jake Schmidt.

Milan cut Richmond's lead in half in the seventh off of a sac fly from Schrader after loading the bases with no outs, but couldn’t extend the game.

“We didn’t get the key hit. What are you going to do? It’s baseball, it happens,” Gilles said.

Milan started the first inning with a single from Lindeman and Schrader reached on an error. Though Milan had runners on first and second with no outs, Richmond pitcher Mitchell Ward was able to get out of the jam.

Ward got the win on the mound after giving up two runs on four hits in six innings of work. Ryan Boyd picked up a one-inning save. Ward also had a pair of hits for Richmond.

Richmond led off the bottom of the second with a double from Evan Kraat. A passed ball advanced courtesy runner Nick Ottenbacher and the Blue Devils had a runner on third with no outs. Owen Kraat brought home Ottenbacher with with a sacrifice fly to left field to give Richmond the early 1-0 lead. Ottenbacher scored again in the sixth inning and Evan Kraat finished the day 2-for-2 with a double, and RBI and a walk.

Milan evened the score in the top of the fifth with an RBI single from Conner Berge. Richmond intentionally walked Schrader to get to Berge and he made the most of the opportunity with a two-out single to shallow center that scored Jacob Maas from second.

“(The intentional walk to Schrader) means they have no faith in you, and Conner has been struggling lately and he didn’t do too much, but he just put the ball in play,” Gilles said of the play. “It’s a bloop single but it scores a run. Too bad we couldn’t push a few more across.”

Richmond (34-4) will play Grand Rapids Christian (18-15) in Saturday’s Division 2 championship game at C.O. Brown Stadium. Grand Rapids Christian beat Remus Chippewa Hills (27-8) 1-0 on Friday.

“It has been four years (work to get this far in the tournament), four years of hard work,” Ward said of the coming Division 2 championship game. “Now we have to treat it like another game, just another game. We will have Zach (Leach) throwing tomorrow and he will throw strikes. We can beat anybody in the tournament. We are confident. We had a great time so far but we don’t want it to end.”

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