West Point, N.Y. – Fritz Hamburg, associate head baseball coach at the United States Military Academy and a former player and assistant coach at Ithaca, has been named Baseball America/American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Assistant Coach of the Year.

 

   Hamburg, a 1989 Ithaca graduate and all-American catcher on the Bombers’ 1988 national championship team, was an assistant coach at his alma mater for four seasons (helping Ithaca to four NCAA playoff trips) before moving to Army. The Black Knights’ associate head coach for the past three seasons, Hamburg serves on a staff headed by former teammate Joe Sottolano, a 1990 Ithaca graduate who was inducted into Ithaca’s Hall of Fame in 2005.

 

   Under Hamburg’s direction, Army’s pitchers have ranked 27th or better in ERA in each of the last four years. The Black Knights finished second in the Patriot League last spring, earning their third conference tournament berth in the past four years.