“This,” LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri said Thursday, “has been one of the craziest years of my coaching life.”

You think?

On the eve of the Tigers’ hosting an NCAA regional Friday night at 6 in Alex Box Stadium, Mainieri uttered the biggest understatement of 13-year career in Baton Rouge.

Yes, LSU had college baseball’s No. 1 incoming recruiting class, a reason many publications ranked the 2019 Tigers as the favorite to win the national championship.

That team of loaded talent, even as it takes the field in its regional opener against Stony Brook, has yet to make an appearance this season.

It was slayed by revolving door of injuries starting in the fall practice when there were so many injured players (especially pitchers) that Mainieri could only scrimmage twice a week. Even then, there was such a shortage of healthy bodies that he had team managers playing in the outfield.

The aches and pains just kept on coming in preseason practice and all season long as the Tigers somehow scratched out a 37-24 record (17-13, fifth in the SEC) that contained enough quality wins to earn a No. 13 overall NCAA tourney seed

No, it’s not the top 8 seed the Tigers earned for six straight seasons through 2017.

But considering finding healthy starting pitching has been a weekly adventure for Mainieri, something that has had a trickle-down effect on LSU’s offense, there’s a palpable sense of relief among Mainieri and his players that their favorite time of the year – postseason – is finally here.

You could see it last week at the SEC tourney where LSU won 3-of-5 games. It included hammering top 8 NCAA seed Mississippi State 12-2 just two nights after the Tigers lost 6-5 to the Bulldogs in a 17-inning marathon that was the longest game in tournament history.

“Hoover (site of the SEC tourney) is a lot of fun for our guys,” Mainieri said. “They relax, they play hard and they have a great time. We have success, and I think that’s going to carry into this weekend.

“I’m not predicting anything, I just think our kids are in a good frame of mine and ready to play. I told our guys, `You’re five wins away from going to Omaha.’ ”

Three weekends ago, the thought of a trip to the College World Series wasn’t even on LSU’s radar, especially after the Tigers were steamrolled by then-No.4 Arkansas 14-4 in an SEC series opener in Fayetteville on May 9.

The fact the Razorbacks launched four home runs in the first four innings for a 13-2 lead was troubling for Mainieri. But what lit his fuse was how his team uncharacteristically rolled over and played dead.

As soon as the game’s final out was recorded, he didn’t mince words with his players.

“I was really upset,” Mainieri said. I told them, `Winning and losing is one thing. But how you play the game, how you represent your school or your team is a whole other thing. Whether we win or lose tomorrow night, we’re going to go play the game the right way.’

“I didn’t threaten them, but they knew what the message was.”

The Tigers played better in game two, but still lost 11-6. But in the series finale when senior right fielder Antoine Duplantis belted a game-winning two-run homer in the eighth for a 3-2 LSU victory, the instant infusion of positive belief obvious and it hasn’t wavered since.

“That win gave us confidence that there’s not many teams in the country better than this (Arkansas) team and we just got one from them at their place,” Tigers’ senior second baseman Brandt Broussard said.

Starting with the victory over the Hogs, LSU has won seven of its last 10 games.

And for the first time in a while as Tigers began getting some healthy pitching arms back in the saddle at the SEC tournament, LSU’s offense came alive, especially in the back half of the batting order where Broussard and catcher Saul Garza were on fire.

Along with center fielder Zach Watson, both Broussard and sophomore Garza were named to the all-tournament team.

Broussard batted .462 (6-for-13) in the tourney with one double, one RBI, five runs scored and three stolen bases.

“I went down in size in my bat from a 33 (ounce) to a 32,” said Broussard, who made the change after consulting with LSU hitting coach Sean Ochinko. “I felt a little late on everything, so it helped me get the bat through the zone quicker, it made a pretty big impact immediately and I’ve been sticking with that since then.”

Garza, who been on a tear for the last month, hit a team-best .474 (9-for-19) in the tourney with four doubles, one RBI and two runs scored.

“It’s trying to stay relaxed and not try to do much,” Garza said of how he found his hitting stroke. “Antoine and Josh (Smith) talked to me and told me to stay patient at the plate. Early in the year it felt like I was pressing.”

In fact, for the longest time, it seemed like every LSU hitter was pressing. A major reason was the Tigers’ starting pitching kept sticking the team in immediate and substantial deficits.

That problem, for the most part, has subsided in the last two weeks.

“The pitchers started pitching well and when they did so we started scoring runs for them,” Duplantis said. “It feels like you can settle in a bit when our starter goes a few innings, the score is 0-0 or 1-0 in the fourth inning and you feel like you’re in the game. If you're losing 5-0 in the second inning, then pressure starts to build.”

Yes, there will be pressure this weekend.

But, according to Duplantis, this is the most wonderful time of the year, NCAA regional baseball in Alex Box.

It’s a vastly improved scenario over last year when the Tigers were shipped to the Corvallis Region. That’s where they were tattooed by eventual national champion Oregon State, losing twice to the eager Beavers by a combined score of 26-1.

“Playing postseason baseball at home and in Omaha is the most fun experience I’ve had at LSU,” said Duplantis, who needs four hits to become LSU’s career hits leader. “It’s much more exciting at home where people expect you to win. You just have a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm and hope. Regionals, especially at home, make for more special moments.”