OMAHA, Neb. — Southern Miss will look to rebound from its 7-6 defeat by No. 1 national seed Texas when they return to action in the College World Series at 1 p.m. today, against No. 4 national seed North Carolina in an elimination game.

The Golden Eagles (40-25) have posted an 8-3 postseason record on the strength of the long ball. Southern Miss has hit a tournament-best 16 home runs in the NCAA postseason, including a two-run shot from Michael Ewing against the Longhorns.

USM faces a No. 4 national seed Tar Heel team that comes into the game with a 47-17 record. UNC dropped its opening game, Sunday, 5-2 to Arizona State in 10 innings.

Coach Corky Palmer will send junior righthander J.R. Ballinger to the mound against UNC. Ballinger has posted a 6-3 record in 15 starts this season with a 3.89 earned run average and 59 strikeouts over 83 1/3 innings.

The Golden Eagles come into the game with a .307 team batting average as seven players with at least 135 at bats are above the .300 mark, including senior infielder Brian Dozier (.394) and senior centerfielder Bo Davis (.362).

Junior first baseman Joe Archer continues to lead the Golden Eagles in driving in runs with 62 on the season, while senior outfielder Corey Stevens is next with 60.

The Tar Heels will counter with the second pick of the 2009 MLB First Year Player Draft, Dustin Ackley, who went to Seattle. Ackley has posted a .412 batting average with 22 home runs and 70 RBI for UNC, while teammate Kyle Seager comes into the game with a .391 batting clip to go along with 5 round-trippers and 59 RBI.

UNC expects to send senior righthander Adam Warren to the mound against the Golden Eagles. Warren brings a 9-2 record with a 3.23 ERA into the contest against USM and he has tallied 97 strikeouts in 92 innings during the campaign.

In the series opener against Texas, the Golden Eagles did collect their school-record 81st double play for the season. Southern Miss also played in front of 24,142 – the largest crowd ever to see a Golden Eagle baseball game.