BATON ROUGE- Paul Mainieri received a heartwarming welcome when he arrived at Alex Box Stadium for the last time as LSU’s head baseball coach.

Fans left notes for Mainieri on the gates of Alex Box thanking him for his 15 seasons with the program.

Mainieri, who last month announced plans to retire at the end of the 2021 season, ended his coaching career Sunday with LSU's 15-6 loss against Tennessee in game two of the NCAA super regional.

Mainieri is one of five baseball coaches in NCAA history to win 1,500 games and a national title.

Although he won’t be in the dugout, Mainieri said this will not be the last time LSU fans see him.

“Even after the players that I’ve coached will be gone, I’ll still be here in Baton Rouge and forever a big LSU baseball fan," Mainieri said. "I want to see them do nothing but succeed, but I’ll have a special interest while the players that I’ve coached are still in the program as well.”