Hailing from nearby Austintown, Ohio, Dennis Kranecvich, starred scholastically for Head Coach Rich Coppola at Fitch High School where he was a four-year starter for the Falcons at second base from 1977 to 1980, earning All-Steel Valley Conference laurels his senior season.
He opted to attend Miami Dade North Junior College upon graduation to play for the legendary baseball guru Demie Mainieri and when things didn't exactly pan out the way he had hoped during his first collegiate season, he returned to Youngstown, and enrolled at Youngstown State University.
He talked to Penguin Head Coach Dom Rosselli hoping to get a chance to walk-on when his sophomore season came around, and when Rosselli offered his words of encouragement, Krancevich made the most of the opportunity and the rest they say is history!
A three-year lefterwinner for the Penguins from 1983 to 1985, he was small in stature but with a glove (he was a second baseman) and a bat, was absolute dynamite! Although he played for the Penguins during their transition years from a Division 11 participant, to an NCAA Division I entrant, haled the Penguins during his three seasons in the red and white in almost every offensive category, earning team "Most Valuable Player" honors all three seasons.
Under Rosselli's tutelage, he was a First-Team Ohio Valley Conference choice as both a junior and senior while his .424 batting average during his junior campaign ranked him 19th in the nation on the Division I level. He remains tied for first in the all-time record book at YSU for doubles in a season (115) and home runs in a game (two, done on three separate occasions), posting a .383 career batting mark, tops all-time among players with 350 career total official at bats.
His 157 career hits currently ranks fourth all-time in that category, but he set the record at the time in just three seasons before former Penguin and summer league teammate Jeff Stofko, who accomÂplished the feat in four seasons, broke that mark with 162 during the 1987 season.
A recap of his career for the Penguins shows that he is still listed in the top 10 in no less than 15 offensive categories while he is still in the top 15 in at least 19 offensive departments, all accomplished within a three-year span.
Some of his other career highlights included second and fourth place for most hits in a season (61 in 1985 and 56 in 1984),fourth longest hitting streak all-time (19 games), fourth all-time for home runs in a single season (seven in 1984), fifth all-time in home runs (12), fourth-highest single-season batting average (.424 in 1984), fifth highest slugging percentage for a single season (.697 in 1984) and third and sixth (92 in 1984 and 84 in 1985) respectively in total bases in a single season.
Currently employed by Second National Bank in Austintown, he and his wife, the former Joan Tokarsky, have one daughter, Katie.
He earned his AB degree in Economics in 1987.
