Earlier this spring, when junior Daniel Bryant suffered a shoulder injury, Free State High baseball coach Mike Hill wasn’t sure the speedy outfielder would be able to return to the Firebirds’ lineup.

Bryant, it turned out, bounced back better than expected, but during his time off for recovery sophomore Kyle Abrahamson emerged as a key cog for Class 6A’s defending state champions.

“When Daniel got healthy again,” Hill explained, “where do you put him? You’ve got (senior Hunter) Gudde, (junior Jacob) Pavlyak and Abrahamson in the outfield.”

Well, when Gudde pitches, like he did Thursday afternoon against Derby in the state quarterfinals at Hoglund Ballpark, Hill puts Bryant in left field.

It took less than an inning in the Firebirds’ 10-0, state-opening victory for Bryant to show what kind of luxury FSHS enjoys with its roster depth.

The former starter, turned defensive fill-in and pinch-runner, made a sliding, run-saving snag in left to keep Derby off the board in the first.

“It’s huge to get momentum,” Bryant said afterward. “The team, everybody’s getting hyped up about it.”

Indeed, the Firebirds jumped out to a two-run lead after the gem, Bryant’s first of two impressive defensive plays. Later, in the fifth, Bryant chased down a fly ball in the gap and maintained the catch as he and Pavlyak collided.

Hill had to admit after the win: “We’ve got pretty good baseball players who don’t get a lot of (playing time).”

Bryant came through at the plate, as well. Free State’s No. 9 hitter, who entered 4-for-8 with two doubles on the season, delivered a key two-out single in the bottom of the second inning, with no one on base. It set up a three-run frame and sent Free State halfway to its 10-run total after just two innings.

Later on, in the fifth, Bryant led off with what Hill described as a “heck of an at bat.” The junior, who drew his second base on balls, became the first of four runners to cross the plate as FSHS (19-4) advanced to the state semifinals against top-seeded Blue Valley (21-2).

“We all have our roles on the team,” Bryant said after going 1-for-1 and scoring twice. “and everybody just has to know your role and stay within yourself. That’s how you can be successful.”

Pavlyak, who went 2-for-3 and scored three runs, agreed each Firebird focused on performing his specific role in the state opener.

“When everyone does that,” Pavlyak said, “we’re obviously pretty good.”