Omaha, Neb. ? Chris Dominguez hit two of Louisville’s four home runs, Justin Marks allowed two singles before taking a hard shot to his left leg in the sixth inning, and the Cardinals eliminated Mississippi State from the College World Series with a 12-4 victory Sunday.

Louisville’s powerful offense kept the Cardinals (47-23) alive in their first CWS appearance. They will play Tuesday against North Carolina.

Mississippi State (38-22) went two games and out or the first time in seven CWS appearances since the 1971 Bulldogs went winless here.

The Cardinals found themselves fighting for survival after squandering leads of 5-0 and 10-4 in Friday’s 15-10 loss to Rice.

Sunday, the Cards broke out to an 8-0 lead, and they didn’t fold this time. After Mississippi State scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth, Louisville came back with three in the seventh, highlighted by Dominguez’s two-run shot to left.

Rice 14, North Carolina 4

Omaha, Neb. – Rice jumped on North Carolina with a six-run second inning, and Joe Savery pitched six-plus solid innings to make it stand up.

The Owls, who failed to score in their last 23 innings at the 2006 CWS, have 29 runs in their first two games and are the lone unbeaten team in Bracket 1.

They’ll play Wednesday against the winner of Tuesday’s Louisville-North Carolina elimination game.