For one day, Les Miles wasn’t the most accomplished member of his own family, even within the state of Louisiana.
On Saturday, Miles’ son Manny Miles tossed a no-hitter to lead Baton Rouge (La.) LSU University Lab School to a 12-1 victory against Monroe (La.) Calvary Baptist in the Louisiana Class 2A state semifinals. According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, the coach’s son was dominant, finishing the game via Mercy Rule in five innings and facing the minimum three batters in four of those five frames.
While there was no official count of Miles’ strikeouts, the pitcher did struggle with control issues in one inning, walking three batters. The lone Calvary Baptist run scored due to both an error and fielder's choice.
“It’s not that I had a no-hitter,” Miles told the Advocate. “My defense got a no-hitter. They made great plays the whole game. I hung a curveball to [Calvary catcher] Weston Steelhammer, and he hit it a long way and our center fielder Gino [Marucci] runs it down. Then our left fielder made a diving catch, got a bloody nose and keeps going.”
The younger Miles is a sophomore who has previously generated more buzz as a quarterback and wide receiver for the University Lab School Cubs. Given that his father is one of the highest profile college football coaches in the nation, it’s no surprise that football would register first on the radar.
Still, that may be changing soon thanks to young Manny’s impressive performances on the mound. In just his second year of high school baseball, Miles finished 11-0 and threw two no-hitters.
Unfortunately for the Miles clan and all Cubs fans, Miles couldn’t start in the state title game, which followed a day after his semifinal gem. Perhaps because of his absence, University Lab fell to Shreveport (La.) Evangel Christian Academy 2-0 in the championship game.
Of course, that didn’t entirely dim the mood for the Miles family, which was happy being together and celebrating a monumental day for the teenager. The no-hitter was just the second game of the season that Les Miles had been able to attend because of Spring football obligations, but he was glad to make the most of it.
“I love having my family behind me,” Miles told the Advocate. “They’re my biggest supporters. They’ve been there for me when I’ve had bad years and when I’ve had good years. They’re always there.”
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