ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Concordia University head baseball coach Mark "Lunch" McKenzie has announced the 2009 CU baseball schedule. The Golden Bears have 54 games scheduled and only leave the Twin Cities area seven times all season.

The defending NSIC Tournament Champions open the season with 10 games in the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn., playing doubleheaders against Northern State, U-Mary, St. John's (MN), Grand View (IA) College and Mayville State (ND).

Six early season games against U-Mary and two early season games against Northern State are all counted as non-conference games.

The Golden Bears' home opener is on Saturday, Mar. 21 when they open their Northern Sun slate as they host a four game series against Augustana College, one of four new members in the league.

The new membership includes Augustana, the University of Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State University, Mankato and St. Cloud State University. All four teams join the NSIC after the North Central Conference (NCC) disbanded after 2007-08.

One of those four teams, Minnesota State, ended Concordia's 2008 NCAA Tournament run in Emporia, Kan. The Golden Bears and Mavericks will now be league rivals in addition to their regional rivalry.

Concordia has one more non-conference series mixed in, a road trip to St. Joseph, Mo. to play four games against Missouri Western State University, a member of the MIAA.

In all, Concordia will play six home series (18 games) against Augustana (Mar. 21-22), Minnesota Duluth (Mar. 25), Northern State (Apr. 7), St. Cloud State (Apr. 10-11), Minnesota State (Apr. 22) and Winona State (May 2-3).

The Golden Bears look to return to the NCAA Tournament in 2009 after making their first appearance in 2008, which also happened to be Concordia's first men's team to qualify for an NCAA Tournament.