For the first time in three years, North Carolina was placed in the second-day bracket of the College World Series. So while waiting to play LSU tonight at 7, the Tar Heels practiced Saturday in a familiar place: the Village of Boys Town, a residential campus that has provided care, treatment and education to at-risk youth from all over the country for more than nine decades.

The historic site also was the subject of the 1938 film that won Spencer Tracy an Academy Award.

"The players got a great tour of the facility last year, and they know a lot of history about the school, ... and they got to visit the museum and meet and interact with some of the teachers and kids," said UNC associate head coach Chad Holbrook, who ran practice while coach Mike Fox attended his daughter's high school graduation in Chapel Hill. "When we found out we got to practice out here again, all the players were excited about it."

UNC first used a then-new baseball field on the campus briefly in 2006 for pitching practice, and the team liked the site so much that Carolina suggested to CWS officials that it go on the list of official practice sites used by schools during the tournament.

Saturday, dozens of local well-wishers sat in the stands to watch UNC's batting and fielding practice. Afterward, a couple of players -- including second baseman Kyle Seager -- shot hoops on an outdoor court with some residents.

The players were, perhaps, eager to compete at something while they waited for tonight's game.

"They're anxious to play," Holbrook said, "and that's a good thing."