Texans qualify for playoffs at MSBL World Series

Men's Senior Baseball League World Series

70-and-over Central Division

San Antonio Texans

It's official.

The San Antonio Texans are one of four teams to make the playoffs in the 70-and-over Central Division and gain the fourth seed for the playoffs in the Men's Senior Baseball League World Series, which gets underway on Friday at 1 p.m. at the Arizona Diamondbacks Spring Training Facility in Scottsdale.

The Texans, who lost a close one today in Surprise 14-12 to the Philadelphia Mustangs, ended up in a three-way tie for third place in the five-game round robin, but gained the final seed in the playoffs due to a tiebreaker which considers total runs allowed as a factor in determining a qualifier.

San Antonio will meet the top seed, the Volkers, in the semi-finals. The Volkers, a team from Terre Haute, Indiana, beat the Texans 12-5 earlier in the tournament. The Volkers were a perfect 5-0 in the Central Division.

In today's game at the Kansas City Royals Spring Training Complex, centerfielder Bill Mishler threw out two runners at second base -- his second and third assists of the tournament, while Lloyd "Baby Bull" Barzell broke out of a mini slump with a gapper to left-center field and picked up a key walk. Teammate Bob Daliege continues his hot streak at the tournament with two more hits today and leads all of the Tucson connection with nine hits in 17 official trips to the plate.

Pete Peters picked up a solid single today and Pigpen Price collected an infield single, walked and scored a run.

All five players from Tucson -- Daliege, Mishler, Price, Peters and Barzell -- are all in good shape and ready for their sixth game in five days on Friday afternoon in Scottsdale.

Mark Longenbaugh, from Kerrville, Texas, will pitch for the Texans in the semi-final. Longenbaugh is 1-0 in the tournament. Peters will be doing the catching in the semi final as the Texans are just two wins away from a championship ring.


Photos: Bill "The Man with the Golden Arm" Mishler (top), Lloyd "Baby Bull" Barzell. Team Photo: The 2018 MSBL World Series team -- the San Antonio Texans.