Third baseman to follow in father’s footsteps

Ken Krsolovic used the words “special” and “unique” to describe the experiences he and his family are having with baseball in the European nation of Croatia.

On July 29, the Concord Township resident and his wife, Lisa, took their 22-year-old son, Ronnie, to the Pittsburgh airport to begin a journey to the Croatian capital of Zagreb.

Once there, Ronnie Krsolovic would complete the process of gaining Croatian citizenship.

Then he will be cleared to play for the Croatian team in the Under 23 European Cup, scheduled for Aug. 7 to 11 in Prague, Czech Republic.

The younger Krsolovic was a standout player at Riverside High School, Hartford (Md.) Community College and Oakland (Mich.) University. He also has a roster spot on the Croatian national team that will travel to Germany in September to play in the A pool of the European Cup qualifier for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The elder Krsolovic has close ties to baseball in Croatia, too.

In 1996, when he was associate head coach of the baseball team at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Krsolovic made the acquaintance of Kruno Karin, the driving force behind the country's then-nascent baseball program.

Krsolovic traveled to Europe in the summers of 1996 and 1997 to serve as head coach of the Croatian national team in various tournaments. He managed the team when it came to the U.S. in 1998 to play in the International Baseball Challenge.

On that first trip, in 1996, Krsolovic said he was “excited but really nervous” because, when he boarded his flight to Europe, Lisa was seven months pregnant with Ronnie.

“How's that for coincidence,” Ken Krsolovic said, laughing. “I learned so much over there. The experiences I had coaching those teams and learning about the country were unforgettable.

“Now, my son is over there playing baseball for Croatia and getting dual citizenship,” Krsolovic added. “We're excited for him.”

Ronnie Krsolovic voiced similar sentiments.

“This is special. It means everything,” he said. “Baseball has given me so many great experiences. At 6 or 7 years old, I never thought I'd be going all over the country and Europe to play baseball.”

There will be some down time between tournaments, according to Ronnie Krsolovic.

“This is a business trip, but I'm really interested in traveling and seeing how things work over here,” he said.

For now, at least, Ronnie Krsolovic is focused only on contributing to the Croatian team.

He'll play third base for manager Mike Hartley, a former big-league relief pitcher.

From afar, Ken Krsolovic has kept abreast of progress made by the Croatian baseball program.

“The quality of play is much better now than it was,” he said.”They have an official Little League program now and more youth baseball, in general.”