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Pomp and Circumstance for Comets Baseball Team

CLARKS SUMMIT — The comets of Abington Heights fell in Friday’s AAA championship baseball game, losing 7-5 to Knoch, a school from western Pennsylva...

CLARKS SUMMIT -- The comets of Abington Heights fell in Friday's AAA championship baseball game, losing 7-5 to Knoch, a school from western Pennsylvania.

And the tough loss comes on the same day as Abington's graduation.

Abington Heights pushed its graduation ceremony back by a half hour to 6 p.m. to give its boys baseball team more time to get there for the ceremony.

This is the team's second trip to the state title game. Last time in 2009, they won and it also fell on graduation day.

Because of the timing, many Comet fans weren't able to make the trip to Penn State for this game so they made do back here at home

The kids are long gone and teachers at Abington Heights High School are on the cusp of summer vacation, but where were they? Huddled together in the library. They weren't grading or reading, they were watching their students on the high school baseball team fight for a state title at Penn state.

"It's a great way to end the school year supporting our phenomenal baseball team and watching them compete in the state championship," said Abington Heights Spanish teacher Tom Lavelle.

The students were sent home early on this last day of school. Throughout the building, the teachers ordered pizza and watched the game before they headed to graduation later on.

The Abington Heights boys baseball team won the PIAA state championship back in 2009 and the teachers say this day felt a lot like déjà vu because that day in 2009 was also graduation day.

"It was a fun time, we remember it well. We were sharing some stories about the 09 season as we're watching this 2015 season develop," Lavelle added.

As the season and the team's success continued, you could find signs popping up all over the Clarks Summit area.

Some students wished they could make the trip to Penn State but they have to get their diplomas Friday night.

"So, I texted my friends and I said, 'let's go somewhere where there's a TV so we can all watch it and get excited together.'"

A group gathered at Parmigiano's Restaurant in South Abington Township to watch the big event before the next big event in the evening.

"I just can't wait to be lined up at graduation and have the boys all roll up with their gold medals on the travel bus, I'm so excited," said senior Rachel Gilmore.

The Comets fell short of the state title by two runs against Knoch High School from the Pittsburgh area. It's not what Comet fans had hoped for but this day will still be memorable, in more ways than one.

"There's a lot of our friends that play on the team and being a senior, it's really important to get out there and support your friends through the last kind of hurrah," said Erin Schumacher.

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