In more ways than one, Bobby Swartwout and Cody Wheeler stand out on a Little League field.

Both boys are 12 years old and both batted at the top of the lineup on their Butler Township team. They combined to hit 27 home runs and collect 80 hits at the plate. They also struck out 119 batters and walk nine in 60 innings on the mound.

The two led their team to a 16-2 overall record and league championship.

Swartwout stands 5-feet-9 and weighs 158 pounds. Wheeler stands 5-8 and weighs 177.

"They're big for their age, obviously, but they're also excellent all-around players," said Butler Township coach Rod Dunkle. "They've got excellent speed on the bases, great power and control on the mound.

"These two kids are very smart, dedicated players."

Swartwout had 48 hits in 59 at-bats this season, good for an .814 batting average, and hit 12 home runs.

Wheeler had 32 hits in 53 at bats, good for a .604 batting average, and hit 15 home runs.

"Both are team players and they don't act like or think they're better than anybody else," Dunkle said. "They're constantly encouraging their teammates."They overhear parents of opposing teams' players say their kids have to play the two-man show and it offends them. They know we're a team."In the league championship game, the other coach elected to intentionally walk Bobby and Cody every time up. They took it in stride, never got upset - and we won the game, 6-1," Dunkle added.Both players have trained under Jay Fennell's tutelage at his Nothing But Baseball facility. Swartwout was part of the Butler Township 10-and-under team that won the state championship in 2002.Swartwout also played for the Beaver Valley 11-year-old traveling team that placed fifth out of 64 teams at the National AAU tournament in Orlando, Fla., last year.Swartwout and Wheeler are teammates on Beaver Valley's 12-year-old traveling team this season, a team that is 27-5 thus far and ranked No. 3 in the nation by travelbaseball.com.The two bat third and fourth in the Beaver Valley lineup."We have a team of all-stars - and those two are our star players," Beaver Valley coach Jeff Heck said."We had a tryout in the Butler area last off-season and (former Pittsburgh Pirates manager) Jim Leyland told me I had to take the Wheeler kid. He was right."

Leyland's son was the starting catcher on the Beaver Valley 14-year-old traveling team that won the national AAU title last year.Wheeler and Swartwout have combined for 15 homers so far this year for Beaver Valley."We play on some big fields and Cody has hit some towering home runs," Heck said. "He hit one over the light post in left-center field that traveled well over 300 feet."It was one of the longest home runs - maybe the longest - I've ever seen a 12-year-old hit."Wheeler was named MVP of the Rehoboth Beach (Del.) Tournament, which Beaver Valley won. The team also has played tournaments in Akron, Ohio, Charlotte, N.C., Knoxville, Tenn., Kent, Ohio, and Sterling Heights, Mich.Fennell said both players will go on to make their mark in baseball locally."Those boys are horses," he said. "It's like watching Mantle and Maris, they've gone back-to-back so many times."They love baseball and they just want to keep learning."Their physical tools don't hurt, either.As pitchers, both have hit 70 mph with their fastballs. Swartwout allowed only seven hits in 27 innings pitched for Butler Township, striking out 56 and walking seven.Wheeler struck out 63 and walked two in 33 innings pitched."Bobby was well into double-digits in walks last year, but worked hard on his control," Dunkle said. "Both kids are hard throwers, but mix speeds. They know what they're doing out there."