Many baseball coaches put their most productive hitters in the No. 1 and No. 3 spots in the lineup.

The leadoff batter is expected to get on base and set the table for the middle of the batting order. Meanwhile, the third-hole batter is normally a team’s best average hitter.

When LSU continues its late-season drive for a NCAA tournament berth against Alabama at The Box on Friday (7 p.m. Central/SEC Digital Network), the two players who are occupying those places in the lineup are somewhat surprising.

Beau Jordan, who has batted in the bottom of the lineup for most of his career, is the Tigers leadoff hitter. Jordan has a .305 batting average with a team-leading seven home runs. Jordan did not hit higher than .286 in his previous three seasons. Also, Jordan hit eight homers in the last three years.

The story is more unbelievable for the No. 3 batter in the lineup. Austin Bain had no at-bats in his first three years at LSU as he strictly was a pitcher. However, Bain impressed coach Paul Mainieri with the manner in which he swung the bat when forced to play in fall intrasquad games.

Bain ended up getting a chance to play this season due to injuries to three starters in the infield – Josh Smith, Brandt Broussard and Beau’s brother Bryce. Bain, who is the team’s closer, is batting .327 with two homers and 35 RBIs. Bain leads the Southeastern Conference in doubles with 19.

“This year has a been a dream come true for me,” said Bain, who currently has a 16-game hitting streak. “I have been able to play in the field and be a contributor on a day-to-day basis. Last fall, I didn’t expect to be in this role.”

Beau Jordan also didn’t expect to be LSU’s leadoff batter. But, he appreciates having this important spot in the lineup.

“It’s been pretty cool to lead off for the Tigers,” said Beau Jordan, who has hit safely in his last six games. “I came in this year competing with some good freshmen for playing time. Everything has worked out better for the team while I’ve been leading off.”

Mainieri admits that Beau Jordan is not your typical leadoff batter. But, Mainieri had his reasons for Jordan hitting at the top of the lineup.

“It is not by accident that Beau is leading off,” Mainieri said. “Beau has all that experience and he can give us a good quality at-bat to start the game. He has the potential for an extra base hit.

“Beau is not your prototypical leadoff hitter. But, the only one we have is Brandt Broussard and he’s been hurt. I had to do something unorthodox.”

Mainieri has called Bain LSU’s most valuable player this season. Bain has been the designated hitter, the second baseman when Broussard was injured and now he is the first baseman. Bain is still pitching well with a 1-2 record and a 2.57 earned run average. Bain has a team-high three saves.

But, the story of the entire Tigers season has been Bain’s hitting. His batting style is not one to be copied.

“You are not going to see a picture of Austin Bain when you go to the library and look up the perfect swing,” Mainieri said. “He does swing the bat pretty hard and he has good bat speed. Austin may step in the bucket, but then the ball goes down the rightfield line.

“Austin is the best two-strike hitter on the team. He may be down 0-2 and then he tomahawks a ball to the right centerfield gap. He has done that so many times this year. Austin is a guy who really competes in the batter’s box.”

Bain does have a plan when he steps to the plate. His approach is not simply ‘see ball, hit ball.’

“I go up there looking for a fast ball,” Bain said. “I like hitting the fast ball better. As I get deeper in the count, I get more off-speed pitches. So, I’ll sit on a curve ball then.”

Both Beau Jordan and Bain have been on two LSU teams who reached the College World Series. This season is different as the Tigers are simply trying to pile up enough victories just to reach the NCAA tournament.

“There is a sense of urgency now,” Beau Jordan said. “We have to take it one game at a time. In my sophomore year, we were in a rough spot. Then we won eight of our last nine SEC games and it worked out for us.”

Bain is heading into these last couple of weeks with a similar mindset.

“The main thing we have to do is focus on one game at a time,” Bain said. “If we think of it more than that, we can let things slip away from us. It’s a bunch of one-game seasons we have to focus on.”