Likes leads Central to regional semifinal win over Unity

Published 2:00 am Thursday, May 28, 2026

MENDON, Ill. — Camp Point Central junior pitcher Collin Likes had the most important starting assignment so far of his high school career on Wednesday.
Likes pitched a complete game with six strikeouts, while allowing five hits, two walks and three earned runs to help lead Central to a 9-3 win over Unity in the Class 1A Mendon Regional semifinal game.
“I just threw strikes and used all of my pitches,” said Likes. “I just walked in and did my thing like I always do.”
After allowing an early run in the top of the first inning, Likes retired the side the next four innings before running into some trouble in the sixth.
“I just really had to push myself,” said Likes of getting out of the jam and limiting the damage.
With Likes getting out of trouble in the sixth inning, Panthers head coach Jordan Tenhouse went back to his right-hander for the seventh.
“Collin had to gut it out at the end and he was very efficient,” said Tenhouse. “You could tell it was warm today. We probably haven’t played in this much heat this season. He had to gut it out. You could tell he was running on fumes there at the end, but he was able to gut it out. We’re really proud of him.”
Unity head coach Tyler McAllister tipped his cap to Likes after the game.
“Credit to Collin,” said McAllister. “We didn’t see him this year and we only briefly seen him last year. So we didn’t really have much of a game plan for him. We knew what he had, but without seeing somebody it’s hard to know. He’s not super overpowering, but he doesn’t walk guys, he throws strikes and mixes pitches as well. He did a good job of keeping us off-balance.”
Mustangs starting pitcher Adler Gray only lasted two innings and got two strikeouts, while allowing four hits, one walk and three earned runs.
McAllister then turned to Avery Frese, Sawyer Allen and Brym Parrish in relief.
“We just didn’t have it on the mound today,” said McAllister. “That’s been a struggle for us lately. That’s why we went to Avery pretty quickly, but they battled. I was proud of that. It wasn’t because of lack of effort. It’s hard when you get a team like that who’s barreling a lot of baseballs.”
Frese led the game off with a single and then stole second and third base before being singled home by Carter Rolando.
That did not phase Central, who struck back in the bottom of the first game after Briggs Wiskirchen drove in Luke Huston to tie the game and Jace Howe scored on an error to give the Panthers at 2-1 lead.
“We knew we were good enough to win today,” said Tenhouse. “Nothing against Unity, but we felt like we were the better team coming in. It’s a seven-inning game, so if we get down, there’s more to go. It started with Luke Huston hitting the first pitch up the middle.”
Unity was unable to seize the momentum back after Central took a 2-1 lead.
“It was nice to see that coming out,” said Unity head coach Tyler McAllister. “We had a couple of really good offensive practices this Monday and Tuesday, and I think that showed in the first inning when we barreled a couple of baseballs. It was nice to see. we kind of gave them a cheap one back to make it 2-1, but credit to them. (Central) came back and stymied us after the first and stole the momentum.
The Panthers tacked on another pair of runs in the second inning from RBI doubles by Wes Homan and Huston.
Huston was a spark plug out of the leadoff spot for Central, going 3-for-3 with a walk, double, RBI and two runs.
“Luke has been good in big games, and conference games,” said Tenhouse. “He always finds a way to grind out at bats. Luke told us he was going to have a couple of hits today and he had three today.”
Central first baseman Braxton Kestner hit a two-run home run in the third inning to increase the lead to 6-1.
“As much as (Kestner) talks about hitting a home run in a game, he picked the right time to do it,” said Tenhouse. “So we’re really proud of him. He also made a heck of a ctach down the line. Braxton’s home run got the dugout excited and extended our lead to help us feel more confident.”
The Mustangs finally got something going in the sixth inning after Allen delivered a two-RBI single.
However, Central responded with a three-run bottom of the sixth to put the game out of reach as Grant Hamilton, Homan and Huston each scored on wild pitches.
Unity finishes the 2026 season with a 12-10 record.
“I told them at the end, guys are going to look at our 12-10 record and say pretty average,” said McAllister. “But this team battled and was really good offensively all year. We beat a lot of quality, high-level teams that won a lot of baseball games in this area this year. This was one of the better teams that I’ve had. Unfortunately, we don’t get to keep going and play on Saturday.”
Up next for Central (19-6) is the Class 1A Mendon Regional championship game against Brown County (19-6-2) at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
The Panthers rallied back from a five-run deficit in the regular season matchup on March 18 to defeat Brown County 11-10.
“I have a lot of respect for Coach (Jared) Hoots,” said Tenhouse. “He’s done a phenomenal job with their baseball program. They’ve been on a good run in a lot of things, and we’re glad we get a shot. That’s what we wanted to start the year and we got a chance to take it. Saturday mornings are a fun time and that’s when championships are won.”