Kya and Kaden Piel: State Championship Siblings
AURORA – Over the 2023-2024 Colorado High School Activities Association season, hundreds of champions have been named, but only one pair of siblings can say they won their championships in two different activities, on the same day – Merino’s Kaden and Kya Piel.
“It was planned the whole time,” Kya remembers. “I knew that, right after the race, I wanted to get over and watch as much of his game as I could. At track, there were people on the sidelines cheering me on and telling me what the score was, and I just have to say thank you to those people because, truthfully, my mind was all about baseball that day.”
As she hopped in the car, Kya’s older brother was preparing to take the mound a mere eight-minute drive away, with redemption and Merino’s second-ever baseball state championship hanging in the balance.
Although Kaden was Merino’s starting pitcher for the championship game, the red-hot Akron bats had Merino facing a 5-0 deficit right away, forcing an early pitching change. However, despite the slow start, Merino rallied back fairly quickly – knocking home four runs in its first set of at-bats and scoring two more times in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 6-6.
One inning later, the Merino Rams took a lead they would hold until the younger Piel arrived to catch the game’s ending.
Yet, upon her arrival, it seemed like she might have unfortunately booked herself a front-row seat to her brother’s waking nightmare.
Kaden re-entered the game in the seventh inning and ultimately gave up two more runs, which put Akron back in control, 9-8.
Thankfully for the Piels though, Kaden’s luck would soon change. He escaped the seventh inning without allowing Akron to do any more damage and, in doing so, set himself up perfectly to flip the narrative as the lead-off hitter at the bottom of the seventh inning.
“There was no pressure, to be honest with you,” Kaden remembered. “It was just one of those moments where you just felt it was do-or-die. You either get it done, or you don’t, and you just have to try your best.”
With that icy cool demeanor, Kaden connected with the ball and sent it towards the left outfield, where it dropped just out of reach of a diving Akron left fielder and, in the process, jumpstarted Merino’s comeback. Two at-bats later, Piel trotted across home plate to tie the game, shortly before the next batter sealed the Rams’ victory with a walk-off single to the outfield.
Piel finished the game going 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.
“It was awesome,” Kya recalled. “I couldn’t have asked for a better day. Kaden had such a great game and he always seems to find a way to impress me. I was just super proud of him and myself. I did something that I honestly didn’t think I was going to be able to do that day, and my brother did the same, so I was just so proud of my family.”
Kaden didn’t know Kya had won her championship until after the end of the baseball game, and his reaction to the news echoed the excitement of his younger sister.
Even a few weeks removed from the victory, Kaden’s excitement remained the same.
“It was super special,” the older Piel said. “Not many people can say they won a state championship on the same day as their sibling, but I am fortunate enough to be able to say that. I feel so incredibly blessed.”
With Kaden graduating, it will now be his turn to sit in the stands and cheer on his sister as she looks to add more state championships to the Piel’s bountiful collection.
