CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - After 16 months away from home, the North Carolina baseball team took to the field at the new Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium for the first time Friday on a sunny Chapel Hill afternoon.

Two weeks before the 2009 opener, the team loaded into their vans thinking they were headed to Cary, but the coaching staff had a surprise in store for the Diamond Heels. The vans came to a stop on Ridge Road in front of the stadium, and players excitedly unloaded and took to their new field for the first time.

After an hour-long warm up for the team, junior All-America Alex White threw the first pitch in the new stadium in an intra-squad scrimmage, just as he likely will in the Feb. 20 opener against VMI.