Zelienople is out. Cranberry, Karns City, Freeport and Valley are in.

Welcome to the new-look Butler County American Legion Baseball League.

The circuit opens the 2013 season Tuesday, having grown from eight teams to 11. The seven returning from last year are Butler City, Center Township, East Butler, Meridian, Saxonburg, Slippery Rock and West Sunbury.

“We didn’t lose Zelienople because of a lack of players,” Butler City manager Jerry Piroch said. “We couldn’t find a coach down there.

“There are plenty of kids out there who want to play summer baseball. That’s why I think our league will keep growing.”

With the old Freeport team having joined a wooden bat league this season, Ernie Sipolino is managing a new Freeport entrant in the league. Most of his players are from Leechburg.

“We’re a young team, but we expect to be competitive,” Sipolino said. “We’ll be playing against teams from areas we’re not used to seeing and that’s exciting.”

Valley’s entrant is primarily made up of players from the New Kensington area.

“We’re looking forward to this,” Valley manager JR Iellimo said. “We found out there’s a new league growing up there (in Butler County) and we wanted to become a part of it.”

East Butler won the eight-team BCAL’s regular season and tournament title last year, winning 24 of 27 games. Saxonburg lost the championship game and was 19-6 on the campaign.

The BCAL was not affiliated with Pennsylvania American Legion Baseball last season, opting instead to channel league fees toward $1,000 scholarships awarded to two players.

Cody Beacom of Saxonburg and Justin McNeish of West Sunbury were awarded those scholarships.

The league will operate on its own again this year, will play an all-star game June 16 at Highfield and may expand its scholarship program.

“That’s still in the works, but it’s certainly possible that more kids could be awarded scholarships since we’ve added more teams,” Meridian manager Butch Master said.

Saxonburg manager Scott Shearer is hopeful the league eventually expands to 16 teams and breaks off into eight-team North and South Divisions.

“That would cut down on travel for everybody,” Shearer said. “I know this league is better now and it’s going to get better still.”

Piroch said the BCAL could have 16 teams as early as next year.

“There are a number of teams down in the Alle-Kiski area who are interested in joining us,” he said.

On the field, the league looks intriguing as well.

East Butler has eight players returning from its championship team, including pitchers Adam Harbison and Jordan Rodgers, along with catcher Ryan McCrea.

“We’re mixing in a lot of new kids as well,” first-year manager Steve Armahizer said. “The biggest strength we have on this team is depth.

“With only eight of the 11 teams making the tournament, the regular season is going to be every bit as important as the postseason.”

Butler City has 10 19-year-olds on its roster, including Alex Ziegler from California (Pa.) University and Butler County Community College product Josh Friel.

“Most of these kids have been playing for me since they were 16,” Piroch said. “It’s time to make it shine.”

West Sunbury will be an extension of the Moniteau High School team. Plenty of Knoch’s players are on the Saxonburg roster and Karns City’s high school team will comprise most of the Legion program’s roster.

Adam Hartwig, an assistant baseball coach for Karns City, will manage the Legion team.

“These kids love the game and they love to play,” Hartwig said. “We’ll be a solid hitting team. Pitching hasn’t been our strong suit this spring, but these kids know how to make up for it at the plate.”

Mike Mills is manager of the new Cranberry team. He said the strength of his team will be “up the middle” with middle infielders Connor Ganch and Damon Ingles and center fielder Max Zampoli.

Meridian has veteran players returning in pitcher-third baseman Jake Koerner, outfielder-catcher Matt Dowdy and second baseman-pitcher Tyler Friel. The team also picked up three players from last year’s Zelienople team, including catcher Tucker Van Dyke and Seneca Valley junior varsity shortstop Tyler Bommer.

Shearer said Saxonburg ace pitcher Taylor Sharer “is probably the best third baseman in the league, too.”

Slippery Rock manager Todd Rockburn debuted his team last year “with a bunch of 16-year-olds ... Now they’re 17, still young, but more experienced.

“We’ve got a mix of Slippery Rock and Grove City kids. We’ve got some strong pitchers.”

Piroch is the dean of current BCAL coaches, entering his ninth year. Master is entering his eighth season at Meridian.

“This league will be competitive from top to bottom,” Piroch said. “There are no bad teams. It will be a scramble for those eight spots and three good baseball teams are going to be left out.”