VISTA -- In most Little League circles, hearing someone say you throw like a girl could be construed as an insult.

Not so at Rancho Buena Vista Little League, in which 12-year-old Jacqueline Kane throws heat just like the boys -- even better than them, in some cases.

"She doesn't throw like a girl," said Reds coach Marty Miller, who led the Rancho Buena Vista all-stars to the 2005 Little League World Series and coaches against Kane's Indians. "She throws like a boy."

The fact that she is the only girl in RBV's majors division doesn't bother Kane, who, at 5-foot-7, is one of the tallest players in the league.

"I don't really see it as boys and girls," she said. "It's just kids playing baseball."

Kane, who is a seventh grader at Madison Middle School, is one of the best players in the league, according to her coach, Larry Solomon.

"I faced her once (in 2004), and I knew right then and there I needed her," said Solomon, who has coached Kane for four years. "I made her the top pick after that because I knew you could build a team around her."

Picking Kane has paid off for Solomon. The Indians were RBV's first-half champions with a 10-2 record; they are tied with Miller's Reds at 6-3 in the second half.

Kane is hitting .410 with two home runs, 23 RBIs and 25 runs. She leads the team in the latter three categories and is third in batting average. On the mound, she is 4-0 with a 2.59 ERA in 44 innings, with 63 strikeouts and only 21 walks.

"There are very few kids in this league … that when she comes to the plate, everything stops and everybody crowds around and watches," Solomon said.

Miller, whose Reds have lost three of four games to the Indians this year, said he has never seen a girl play at this level as well as Kane.

"She is not just a baseball player; she is the total package," Miller said. "She is one of those girls that fits right in with the boys."

At least one of Kane's teammates is glad he doesn't have to face her.

"She'd probably get a hit against me," said Josh Quezada, 10.

What about the fact that she's a girl?

"She's just another kid out there playing baseball to me," Quezada said.

Kane started playing baseball at age 5. At each level, she has made the all-star team. Last year, she beat out several boys to win the league's home run contest, which Kane described as "cool."

"There is no gimmick with her," Solomon said. "She is a legit top-five player in every division she has been in."

Several years ago, Kane wanted to be the first female professional baseball player. But with age, her interests have changed, and Kane thinks she'll play baseball for a few more years for the newly formed Rancho Buena Vista Juniors.

As for high school, Kane said she will probably play soccer and basketball at Rancho Buena Vista. She isn't sure she wants to play high school baseball and be the lone girl on the team. Girls are allowed to play high school baseball, CIF San Diego Section commissioner Dennis Ackerman said.

Mark Phelan, president of the RBV Little League and Kane's coach on the Vista Condors travel team, said he hears about having a girl involved in a male-dominated sport all the time.

"We play tournaments all over, and it was always, 'Hey, there is a girl on the other team,' " Phelan said. "I don't think her teammates have ever looked at her as a girl, just a really good teammate. But it is very common for umpires or other coaches to come up to me and say, 'Hey, you got to get her into softball.' "

Kane said she won't consider a switch to softball. And she has had her chances. Each year her parents, Pat and Wendi Kane, take her to a softball game and ask if she wants to try the sport. The answer is always no.

Baseball is the only sport in which Kane plays with and against boys. While nothing bad has ever been said at Rancho Buena Vista, Phelan said he has heard some negative comments during travel ball. But it didn't take long for that talk to be quashed.

"I can remember more than once a coach would shut his boys down," Phelan said. "Several times I heard, 'It doesn't matter if it is a boy or girl; she struck you out.' It is nice to see other coaches pointing out she is a baseball player."

Miller isn't surprised by that.

"She fits in perfectly," he said. "She is just like one of the guys."

Contact staff writer Matt Null at mnull@nctimes.com.