Orange County Prep Player of the Week : Luce Is All Business; It’s a ‘Perfect’ Attitude

Nicky Luce of Cypress High School may not appreciate the on-field tomfoolery practiced and enjoyed by her teammates.

She flees their ceremonial birthday-cake-in-the-face-fights. She hesitates when the Centurions practice their wild, screaming cheers. And she ignores their teasing of her pregame makeup application.

“Nicky’s the conservative one,” said catcher Diane Pohl. “She reminds you of a normal girl--the beauty-queen type--until you see her play.”

That’s when Luce’s real beauty comes out. Her drop and drop-curve are a sight to be seen. Her screwball and fastball are knockouts--make that strikeouts--to an unexpecting batter. And, according to Ron LeFebvre, Luce’s pitching coach, her technique is close to perfect.

Luce, a senior, was perfect last week. In a 1-0 victory over Katella Tuesday, she pitched the second perfect game of her career. She followed with a one-hitter Thursday, in a 5-0 victory over Esperanza. Luce, The Times’ Player of the Week, struck out 13 in each games.

“I’m happy about it, I guess,” Luce said. “I didn’t know I had it going, really. No one said anything to me.”

Excuse Luce for not getting overly excited. She has work on her mind.

Pitching work, that is, something Luce dedicated herself to when she became a student of LeFebvre 11 years ago.

“Nicky was 7 when she first came to us,” said LeFebvre, owner of Ron LeFebvre’s Schools of Baseball and Softball in Orange.

“I evaluated her as I do everyone. I only accept about 30% of the girls that apply, and Nicky had these long skinny legs--she looked nothing like a pitcher. She was horrible, she couldn’t throw or catch. But there was something about her that made me think twice. She was always happy, she never got mad externally, she had a tremendous attitude.”

At an age when most are just getting their first homework assignments, Luce spent up to five nights a week practicing with LeFebvre’s instructors. At 8, LeFebvre began to coach Luce himself, inspired by her determination and curiosity.

“With most, it was always hard to make changes on their form or technique,” LeFebvre said. “But Nicky was always happy about it. I remember hearing her little voice over the phone asking for help. She would ask: ‘Why twist the finger this way?’ or ‘How does that help it go that way?’ She could drive you nuts with questions. You could never just tell her, you always had to qualify it.”

With LeFebvre’s help, Luce became one of the best mini-major league pitchers in California. At 12, Luce led the Panthers, a Cypress-based travel team, to the first 12-and-under national championships. She did it again at 14 and 15.

In addition to her perfect game Tuesday, Luce (16-3) has pitched four no-hitters this season, struck out 183 batters and allowed 44 hits, 23 walks and 7 earned runs in 128 innings. She has a 0.36 earned-run average for Cypress (9-3, 17-6).

“It’s all been worth it to me,” said Luce. “I love the sport, and the activity and the competition. I may be more serious about it than some who are only out for fun. I play for fun, but I like to win, too.”