overall. The Tigers lost 12 games in SEC play and lost to Southern for only the second time in 41 tries. Rice would go on to defeat the Tigers in the Baton Rouge Regional Finals. It was obvious that 2006 would be a critical year for Laval. However, that year would see LSU post a 35–24 mark overall, their worst since 1983. They also posted their first losing SEC record in 23 years and would miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 years. Under growing pressure from fans and the administration, Laval officially resigned on June 4, 2006. The Paul Mainieri era (2007–2021) 2007–2008 On June 28, 2006, Paul Mainieri was named the twenty-fifth head coach of LSU Baseball. Mainieri returned to Baton Rouge, where he began his career in college baseball 30 years earlier as a freshman at LSU in 1976. Mainieri finished his collegiate playing career at the University of New Orleans. Prior to his arrival at LSU, Mainieri coached St. Thomas University in Florida, Air Force, and Notre Dame. In his first season at LSU, the Tigers posted a mark of 29–26–1. The season was full of ups and downs, with the Tigers winning four SEC series against Top 25 opponents, but struggling in non-conference play. After the season, Mainieri realized changes had to be made and informed certain players that they should consider other options, as well as making some changes to his current staff. Mainieri was able to put together a tremendous recruiting class following the 2007 season, which was later ranked No. 1 by Baseball News. In his second year, LSU was predicted to finish fifth in the SEC Western division by the SEC baseball coaches before the year started. Following an amazing turnaround, Coach Mainieri led LSU to the SEC Western Division championship with a conference record of 18–11–1, and the No. 2 seed in the 2008 SEC baseball tournament. The Tigers finished the regular season record at 39–16–1. The team won the 2008 SEC Tournament (held May 20–25 in Hoover, Alabama). With the win, LSU won 20 consecutive games, breaking the previous school record of 19 consecutive wins during the 1997 season and tying the SEC's second-longest streak of wins. Fourteen of those wins were come-from-behind wins, while the last 15 were made wearing the distinctive gold jerseys. By winning the SEC Tournament, LSU earned a 7th national seed