Marcos Paz was looking for a bounce-back.

Last weekend was not what LSU’s freshman right-handed starter had hoped for, allowing seven earned runs and failing to escape the second inning against Georgia. It was a step back after a promising outing two weeks ago against South Carolina when he surrendered just one run in five innings.

But on Friday night against Florida (36-18, 17-12 SEC), Paz didn’t get the step forward he was looking for. He allowed seven earned runs in 4⅓ innings as the Gators dominated LSU in an 11-1 victory in seven innings at Alex Box Stadium.

Paz allowed two runs in the first inning and three in the second, including a 496-foot home run that gave Florida a 5-0 lead. He never found his command, walking four batters, hitting another and throwing just 53 of his 99 pitches for strikes.

The exclamation point for the Gators came in the fifth inning, when Paz allowed a two-run homer off the batter’s eye in center field, stretching Florida’s advantage to 7-1. Friday was the fifth consecutive game in which LSU (29-26, 9-20) allowed at least 10 runs.

Despite LSU coach Jay Johnson stating that sophomore right-hander Casan Evans wouldn’t pitch this weekend, Evans entered the game in the sixth inning on Friday and tossed a scoreless sixth inning before allowing a three-run homer in the seventh that gave Florida a 10-1 lead.

The Gators then won the game on the 10-run mercy rule after first baseman Landon Stripling’s solo homer off of freshman right-hander Zion Theophilus and a scoreless bottom of the seventh for LSU.

Evans and sophomore right-handed starter William Schmidt didn’t pitch in Thursday’s series opener so that both pitchers would be rested for LSU’s first game at the SEC Tournament on Tuesday.

While Paz struggled, LSU’s offense didn’t fare any better against right-handed starter Liam Peterson. In a complete game performance against the Tigers, Peterson struck out 11 batters and allowed just three hits. His fastball was still up to 99 mph by the sixth inning, and he threw a devastating slider all night.

Junior Steven Milam’s home run in the fourth was the Tigers’ only extra-base hit off the future first-round pick. Freshman Jack Ruckert and sophomore Derek Curiel had their other two hits.

LSU and Florida finish their series and their regular seasons on Saturday at Alex Box Stadium. First pitch is set for 2 p.m., and the game will be available to stream on SEC Network+.