SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Fans cheered as they noticed the twin braids peeking out from Sanoe Aina's batting helmet when she strode to the plate at the Little League World Series.

The first baseman for the team from Waipahu, Hawaii, has become a celebrity -- the ninth female player in the tournament's history.

''Sometimes, I don't like all the attention,'' Sanoe said. ''People are going, 'You're the girl from Hawaii, aren't you?' And I'm just a player like anyone else.''

Little League began allowing girls to play in the late 1970s, and the first to reach the World Series was Victoria Roche of Belgium in 1984.

Tatiana Maltseva, a backup catcher for Russia, was the only female player at last year's series. Russian manager Vladimir Eltchaninov said Maltseva generally enjoyed the attention, but that it quickly grew old.

''Tatiana kind of understood, because in Russia baseball is a boy's sport and she was usually the only girl,'' Eltchaninov said. ''But she had a lot more attention here, and sometimes she got a lot of attention from boys. Sometimes she had to be strict with them.''

Sanoe said she's grown used to being one of just a few girls playing baseball, although there was another girl at the Northwest Regional tournament, playing for a team from Utah.

Unlike Maltseva, Sanoe is not a reserve. She started at first base and batted cleanup until the regional level, when she left the team to compete in a national track and field meet in Hershey (she placed fourth in her age group in the softball throw).

Sanoe rejoined her teammates in South Williamsport -- her mother bought the plane tickets even before the regional championship was played -- but has yet to regain her starting job.

She pinch-hit in Hawaii's 3-2 victory Friday over Worcester, Mass., and struck out. In the team's second game, an 8-0 loss Sunday to Fort Worth, Texas, Sanoe lined out to the second baseman, then reached base on an error.

Sanoe struck out in her only at-bat in Hawaii's 2-1 win Monday night over Webb City, Mo.

''I don't think of myself as anything special,'' she said. ''I'm just like the other players, and I just want to play baseball.''