Well, John Koronka had other ideas.

In a favorable hitter’s count, John got his barrel on the ball and watched it soar. He wasn’t sure where it was going to land until he heard the cheering from the Burlington stands.

“I was just looking for a mistake pitch and he gave me a pitch right where I like — up and away. I just put the bat on it, it hit the sweet spot and flew over,” John Koronka said. “I thought, ‘Oh, that was a nice hit. I could get a double out of this.’ Then, all of a sudden, it went over the fence and I heard some people screaming. And I was like, ‘Wow, I just hit a home run.'”

Koronka’s two-run shot tied the game, 5-5, in the potential Northwest Region championship game. No. 1-seeded Burlington needed a victory to keep the No. 2-seeded Renville County Muskrats from going to the Class B State Tournament.

Alex Eisen/MDN Burlington starting pitcher John Koronka runs the bases after hitting a game-tying home run in the sixth inning against Renville County in Burlington.

Clearing the fence once in the sixth inning wasn’t enough, so Dante Gunville drilled another two-run home run later in the frame to put Burlington ahead 7-5.

The Bulldogs held on for a 8-7 win, despite a shaky and heart pounding seventh inning, to force a winner-take-all championship game this evening in Burlington.

“I’m proud of the guys, they were down three runs and they could have rolled over,” Matt Koronka said. “They kept going, and going, and going. And we live to fight another day.”

Arron Grandy plated the first run in the top of the first inning for Burlington, as a double to the gap in right center field allowed Will Pearson to score from first base. That was matched in the bottom half on a sacrifice fly by Henry Savelkoul to tie the game back up.

The Bulldogs regained the lead with a two-out RBI single by Teverell Billadeau off of starter Chase Gates in the second inning. Again, the Muskrats had the answer.

Isaac Undlin brought in two runs in the bottom half on a sharp liner back up the middle, and the ball getting misplayed in the outfield. Savelkoul followed that up with a two-run double, 5-2.

Tobias Zietz got a ball past the Muskrats’ third baseman to make it 5-3 in the fifth and set up the dramatic sixth inning.

The pair of two-run home runs from Koronka and Gunville helped save the Bulldogs’ season. It also got starting pitcher Koronka off the hook for the loss.

“It was a 3-1 count and I knew he was going to come right at him,” Gunville said. “He threw a fastball right down the middle and I had to drive it somewhere. It felt great. I was excited when I hit it because I knew it was gone.”

Matt Koronka added: “That was really clutch and I was happy with the swings they took. We had hitter’s counts, 2-0 and 3-1, and they knew what pitch they were looking for. That was great execution.”

Burlington hadn’t wrapped up the win just yet, and an RBI fielder’s choice for Billadeau to get an extra insurance run in the top of the seventh proved to be very valuable.

Grandy came in to close out the game on the mound, but couldn’t hold back the Muskrats’ final push. A run scored on a wild pitch and an RBI double by Dalton Moberg had coach Matt Koronka scrambling back to his bullpen to call upon left-hander Brayden Bonn to get the final two outs.

“I was hoping it would be a 1-2-3 inning,” Matt Koronka said. “You give up a couple runs. But, we have worked all year and you just have to let the guys make plays. We just found enough to do it.”

Down 8-7, Renville County loaded the bases and were a hit away from forcing extra innings or even winning the Northwest Region. Instead, Bonn got Corbin Hall to pop out in the infield to end the game.

Burlington was scheduled to play No. 5 Bottineau in Game 1 on Saturday with the winner reaching the championship series against Renville County. However, Bottineau was forced to forfeit the contest.

“The reality is they had players that weren’t on their roster,” Matt Koronka said. “And in a tournament situation where arms are at a premium, (we) challenged that ruling to have the right legal players on the roster to play the game or not… They weren’t on the roster submitted to the state for playoffs. People are going to paint me out as the bad guy, but it’s one of those situations where you just do what is best for your team. That’s what it is.”

Burlington and Renville County rematch for the Northwest Region championship and a berth in the Class B State Tournament at 5 p.m. this evening in Burlington.

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.