OMAHA, Neb. – Right from the start, it just wasn’t Mississippi State’s day.

Signs were missed. The starting pitcher was shelled. Controversial umpiring calls and a lack of timely hitting short-circuited whatever potential rallies the Bulldogs started to put together. Even the fans had a rough day, with at least one getting a cowbell confiscated by security.

Louisville’s sluggers, though, had no such problems. Two batters into the game, the Cardinals had the lead. By the middle of the third inning, it had turned into a comfortable margin.

And by the fourth, it was a full-fledged rout.

All the Bulldogs could do was tip their cap to the Cardinals and wish them luck. For State, the College World Series was over almost as soon as it had begun, ending after just one brief weekend with Sunday’s 12-4 elimination-game loss.

&#8220I’m disappointed, but at the same time, I’ve been through this before,” said Mississippi State coach Ron Polk, who has led the Bulldogs to six CWS appearances in 28 seasons in Starkville but never won more than two games in any trip to Omaha. &#8220You tip your cap to a team that played maybe a little bit better than we did.”

It was a rare early exit from the CWS for Mississippi State. In eight trips, this was only the second time that it has gone 0-2. The other was 1971, State’s first-ever trip to Omaha.

Louisville, meanwhile, lived to fight another day thanks to an explosive offense that has pummeled pitchers throughout its run to the first CWS in school history. The Cardinals hit four home runs on Sunday, racked up 18 hits and scored at least eight runs for the seventh time in 10 postseason games.

Chris Dominguez hit two homers, while Daniel Burton was 3-for-6 with a homer and three RBIs. Isaiah Howes also had three hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals, who have scored 42 runs in their last three games.

Louisville still has to beat North Carolina in an elimination game on Tuesday afternoon, and then win two straight from Rice on Wednesday and Thursday to advance to the best-of-three championship series.

With the way the Cardinals are hitting the ball, however, it wouldn’t be a shock if they follow Oregon State as the second straight team to lose its CWS opener and then come back to win the title.

&#8220To get here, you have to score runs. We always say you swing your way to Omaha,” Louisville coach Dan McDonnell said. &#8220If we are to get down, there’s no need to panic. We can score runs quickly, especially if the wind is blowing out.”

Louisville jumped on State from the get-go. After Boomer Whiting led off the game with a single up the middle, Logan Johnson belted an offering from State starter Chad Crosswhite more than 400 feet over the center field fence for a 2-0 lead.

Dominguez bettered Johnson in the third. With the help of a 20 mph wind that was blowing out to left-center all afternoon, the Louisville third baseman blasted a ball about 430 feet onto a landing beyond the batter’s eye. The ball took one high bounce off the concrete and out of the stadium, seemingly bound for downtown Omaha.

The homer was the seventh of the postseason for Dominguez, who had only six during the regular season. He added No. 8 in the seventh inning, a shot that hit the bottom of the scoreboard behind the left field grandstand. His second home run made it 10-3 and ended any thoughts of a miracle comeback by the Bulldogs.

&#8220I think it’s just finding my swing. During the regular season it was a lot of up and down, and now I’m just finding it at the right time,” Dominguez said.

Even Polk was in awe of the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder’s power.

&#8220That third baseman is a hoss,” Polk said. &#8220He had 85 strikeouts this year, and we couldn’t get him to strike out.”

Louisville tacked on two more runs in the third with Howes’ two-run double, then went deep again in the fourth to put the game out of reach. Chris Cates led off with a single, Whiting was hit by a pitch, and both runners were bunted into scoring position by Logan Johnson to set the table for Burton.

Burton launched a ball deep into the first section of bleachers in left field for a three-run homer and an 8-0 lead. Although less impressive than the earlier home runs, Burton’s bomb was far more devastating to the Bulldogs.

&#8220It was big for us to continue to have success in every inning and put pressure on them,” Burton said. &#8220Logan hadn’t sacrifice bunted all year and he got it down. What a great feeling for the team. It just kept the momentum going and going.”

While the Cardinals were playing home run derby, Mississippi State was sputtering to say the least. Jeffrey Rea led off the bottom of the first with an infield single, only to get caught between first and second on a botched hit and run and thrown out after a short rundown.

Mitch Moreland and Brian LaNinfa led off the second with back-to-back walks, but Brandon Turner followed with a grounder to third. Dominguez threw to second for the first out, but the relay throw pulled Burton off the first base bag.

Then the umpires stepped in, ruling LaNinfa had slid wide and late at second. The interference call changed the fielder’s choice to a double play, forced Moreland back to second, and killed a chance for the Bulldogs to get back in the game.

&#8220It sounded like a football explanation. It was a leg kick outside the zone. I couldn’t see it from the angle I was at, so I just have to accept the explanation,” Polk said. &#8220That takes everything out of the inning. We had a guy on first and third, and all of a sudden there’s two outs and the runner has to go back to second. That wasn’t a factor in the ballgame. Please don’t get me in NCAA jail.”

Louisville starter Justin Marks kept MSU scoreless until the bottom of the sixth when Turner belted a three-run home run, but as quickly as MSU cut into the deficit, Louisville expanded it.

The Cardinals scored three more runs in the top of the seventh for an 11-3 lead.

Rea, a four-year starter, went 3-for-4 and ended his career with 335 hits, tops in Mississippi State history.

Although State’s season ended a few wins short of its ultimate goal, Polk said it was hard to call any year that ends in Omaha anything less than a success.

&#8220I’m proud of the boys. They’re a great group. It was just a great season, even with that one bump in the road toward the end,” Polk said. &#8220As I get older I think I enjoy it a little more than I did when I was younger.”