On any given Tuesday evening or Saturday morning last summer, Gayton Post 31 American Legion baseball coach Todd Cifelli could jog to the mound for an unusual conference.

His frontline pitcher, Luke Potter, had just completed his freshman year at Bowdoin College. Catcher Mekae Hyde, on the other hand, hadn’t even begun ninth-grade orientation at Lewiston High School.

“It was an interesting dugout,” Cifelli said.

Legion baseball relaxed its age restrictions three seasons ago, extending the limit by an entire year. Any player who doesn’t turn 20 prior to Jan. 1, 2009 is eligible to play this season.

The change has fostered remarkable growth in Maine, which expanded from four geographical zones to five this summer.

Zone 3, home to most teams in the tri-county area, has expanded from seven teams to 10 over the last two seasons. Ten programs statewide, including Gilman Electric of Mechanic Falls and Andy Valley of Turner, have launched Junior Legion teams for players in the 14-to-17 bracket.

Teams that once had trouble fielding nine players for a weeknight game due to family vacations and summer sports camps now have the same number of available bodies in the dugout as they do on the field.

Not many years ago, New Auburn Legion Post 153 folded for a season due to a lack of participation. This year, coach Brian Flynn will juggle a roster of 15 for the reigning regular-season champions. Cifelli has 18 in the camp across the river.

“I’m a baseball guy, so I’m excited to see growth. The more, the merrier,” said Flynn. “I think that extension has made a huge difference. When kids can head off to play in college and then come back and play Legion, it really changes the game.”

Teams without a Junior Legion affiliate are permitted to carry anyone 14-and-up on their roster. That disparity has produced Gayton’s melting pot of grown men and teammates who have never touched a razor.

Even though Hyde, Jeff Keene and Joe Sullivan are now grizzled, soon-to-be-sophomores, they’re still four years younger than teammates Travis Dyke and Erik Waite. Dyke played at Norwich this spring. Waite went out for soccer at the University of Southern Maine.

“It’s a major factor. You can’t just take the Heal Points from the high school season and (handicap) the Legion season anymore,” Cifelli said.

Monmouth took advantage of several notable post-graduates, including Tavis Hasenfus (University of Maine) and Mike Eaton (USM), on its way to an undefeated regular season and a state championship last season.

“It probably will be less of a factor for us this year,” Monmouth coach Chad Drouin said.

Then again, Drouin issued those words of caution not long after Husson College leadoff hitter Ethan Guerette laced four hits and five RBIs Sunday for Post 204 in the second game of a doubleheader sweep of Fairfield.

Justin Denbow returns to Monmouth’s pitching staff after a full season at Eastern Nazarene College. The champions also hope to get back Josh Jillson from injury by mid-July. Jillson will be a redshirt freshman at Maine in the fall.

Gilman Electric’s top three pitchers return to the Poland/Mechanic Falls team after putting on the cleats for a college or prep school team last year. Will Griffiths (University of Maine at Farmington), Jake Pelletier (Central Maine Community College) and Kyle Mullins (Bridgton Academy) will draw mound assignments that might have gone to Poland Regional High School JV hurlers when the Legion program started.

Tyler Merchant and Eric Picard also provide punch to Gilman’s lineup after swinging at college pitching last season.

“It’s a treat to get your top three pitchers back,” said Walter Cary, who swaps places with PRHS head coach Dave Jordan and coaches the Gilman varsity. “To be able to field two teams, we’re doing pretty well for a small market. We’re proud of that.”

Even the managers overseeing one team are cognizant of how a little extra maturity on the lineup card translates to the standings.

“There will be a lot of runs scored,” said Flynn. “With that continuity and commitment, you’re going to see a lot of strong offensive teams.”