Nevada
Playoff roundup: Coronado softball advances in extra innings
Summer Gilliam’s two-out blooper to center field in the eighth inning scored Bailey Goldberg to give Coronado a 7-6 victory over Centennial in a Class 5A Southern Region softball elimination game.
The winning hit came after the Cougars (15-5), the No. 3 seed from the Mountain League, scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings against the Bulldogs (14-6), the Mountain’s No. 4 seed.
Coronado will play Bishop Gorman in a 2 p.m. elimination game Thursday at Shadow Ridge, with the winner to face the Mustangs at 4:30 p.m. for a state tournament berth.
Centennial, which reached the state title game last season, was eliminated.
— No. 2D Bishop Gorman 10, No. 1D Arbor View 3: Rocio Mora went 3-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs as the Gaels cruised to a victory over the Aggies in an elimination game. Aiyanna Laurian pitched a five-hitter to earn the victory.
Class 4A
— No. 4S Doral Academy 17, No. 3D Legacy 6: Megan Upp had a home run, a triple, a double and eight RBIs to lead the Dragons (14-12) past the Longhorns (15-13) in an opening-round game. Teammate Jenna Becker went 3-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs to help Doral Academy, which broke the game open with a five-run fourth inning. The Dragons play at Desert Oasis at 4 p.m. Thursday.
— No. 2D Cimarron-Memorial 14, No. 4M Mojave 0: The Spartans (16-11) scored nine runs in the first inning and rolled past the Rattlers (9-12). Cimarron-Memorial will play at Basic at 4 p.m. Thursday.
— No. 3S Spring Valley 18, No. 3M Foothill 6: Aubreyana Sanchez had three hits as the Grizzlies (12-14) scored seven runs in the third inning and never looked back en route to a victory over the Falcons (13-10). Emily Makis, Raelynn Villanueva and Lila Spanda had multiple hits for Spring Valley, which plays at Rancho at 4 p.m.Thursday.
— No. 2S Sierra Vista 9, No. 4D Clark 3: Laura Episom went 3-for-4 with a triple and five RBIs to help the Mountain Lions (15-11) defeat the Chargers (8-11). Teammate Riley Watkins had a home run, and Reagan Foglia pitched a complete-game four-hitter for the win. Sierra Vista will play at Tech at 4 p.m. Thursday.
Class 3A
— No. 1M Boulder City 10, No. 2M Pahrump Valley 2: Payton Rogers went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double and five RBIs and also was the winning pitcher as the Eagles (22-6) clinched a state tournament berth with a victory over the Trojans (18-6).
Other scores
No. 2D Moapa Valley 11, No. 3D Mater East 1
No. 1D Virgin Valley 15, No. 3M SLAM Academy 7
Baseball
— No. 1M Faith Lutheran 3, No. 3D Foothill 0: Cash Martin tossed a complete-game three-hitter to lead the Crusaders (24-8-1) past the Falcons (21-12-1) in a Class 5A Southern Region elimination game. Christian Gross went 2-for-3 with an RBI for Faith Lutheran, which scored twice in the first inning. The Crusaders play Green Valley at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in an elimination game at Coronado, with the winner to face the Cougars at 4 p.m. for a berth in the state tournament.
— No. 4M Green Valley 15, No. 3M Liberty 7: Jacob Ferry went 3-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs as the Gators (15-18) used a six-run fifth inning to pull away from the Patriots (17-16). Brandon Callahan went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs to help Green Valley, while TJ Shaw and Ben Byington added three hits apiece.
Class 4A
— No. 4S Eldorado 5, No. 3D Cheyenne 2: Dylan Hayden struck out seven while pitching a complete-game three-hitter in the Sundevils’ win over the Desert Shields (21-6) in an opening-round game. Nathan Minton went 2-for-3 with two RBIs to help Eldorado (15-13), and teammate Misael Pelayo also had two hits. The Sundevils play at Durango at 4 p.m. Thursday.
— No. 2D Clark 13, No. 4M Western 0: Cole Baren went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double and five RBIs to help the Chargers (12-10) roll to a win over the Warriors (12-11). Kellen Anunson went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs to help Clark, and teammate Jack Lewandowski earned the victory, allowing one hit and striking out six. The Chargers play at Sierra Vista at 4 p.m. Thursday.
— No. 3S Bonanza 13, No. 3M Cimarron-Memorial 2: Tyson Owens went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple and two RBIs to lead the Bengals (13-16) past the Spartans (7-18). Teammate Dillon Owens had a double, a triple and two RBIs to help Bonanza, and Darren McGree hit a home run. Michael Garcia went the distance on the mound, striking out seven while allowing six hits to earn the victory. The Bengals play at Tech at 4 p.m. Thursday.
— No. 2S Silverado 10, No. 4D Doral Academy 0: Hogan Hawkins went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBIs in the Skyhawks’ victory over the Dragons (10-14). Marek Pierkarski tossed a six-inning one-hitter, striking out four. Silverado (17-12) plays at Rancho at 4 p.m. Thursday.
Class 3A
— No. 1D Virgin Valley 8, No. 2D Moapa Valley 0: Bryce Intagliata struck out 12 while pitching a complete-game four-hitter as the Bulldogs (27-1) clinched a state tournament berth with a victory over the Pirates (17-12).
Other scores
No. 1M The Meadows 12, No. 4M Pahrump Valley 3
No. 2M Boulder City 7, No. 3M SLAM Academy 2
Boys volleyball
— No. 3S Sky Pointe 3, No. 1D Mojave 1: The Eagles (24-13) defeated the Rattlers (18-9) 25-22, 10-25, 25-19, 25-20 and will play at Bishop Gorman in the Class 4A state semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday.
— No. 2S Bishop Gorman 3, No. 2M Spring Valley 0: The Gaels (21-8) cruised past the Grizzlies (14-15) 25-14, 25-16, 25-22.
— No. 1S Basic 3, No. 3D Durango 1: The Wolves (16-10) beat the Trailblazers (22-14) 25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18. They will host Del Sol in the state semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday.
— No. 1M Del Sol 3, No. 2D Tech 0: The Dragons (20-12) rolled past the Roadrunners (18-17) 25-12, 25-20, 25-19.
Contact Jeff Wollard at jwollard@reviewjournal.com
Nevada
North Las Vegas man charged with killing girlfriend dies while in Nevada prison
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A North Las Vegas man awaiting trial for allegedly killing his girlfriend during a fight is dead, according to Nevada prison officials.
Markeem Benson, 30, died at High Desert State Prison near Indian Springs on Monday, Dec. 22, the Nevada Department of Corrections said in a statement.
An autopsy has been requested, according to the department.
Benson was serving time for an attempted robbery conviction from 2024, for which he was originally sentenced to probation with a suspended prison sentence.
He was also charged with the murder of 33-year-old Renise “Nene” Wolfe.
Renise Wolfe is pictured in this undated photo. Police allege Markeem Benson shot and killed Wolfe in a North Las Vegas apartment. (Photo provided)
North Las Vegas Police arrested him in December last year. According to an arrest report, Benson’s father called 911 saying Benson wanted to turn himself in for murder.
The father told detectives that Benson called him saying, “I killed her; I think I killed her” and “told him something to the effect of ‘she’ came at him with a gun, there was some kind of ‘tussle,’ and then the gun went off,” the report states.
An grand jury indicted him for murder and possession of a gun by a prohibited person. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following the indictment, his probation was revoked in March, and he was incarcerated at High Desert State Prison to serve a term of two to five years.
A jury trial was scheduled to begin in April next year for Wolfe’s murder. Instead, prosecutors have asked for a hearing on Dec. 30 in light of Benson’s death, per court records.
Nevada
28-year-old inmate at Southern Nevada prison dies
A man serving time at the Southern Desert Correctional Center for felony reckless driving died last month, the Nevada Department of Corrections said Tuesday.
Shiloh Walker, 28, died at the Indian Springs facility on Nov. 24, a news release said. Cause of death was not listed.
Walker was serving a sentence of up to six years after a plea agreement was reached in 2022 following a DUI crash that happened May 31, 2021 in Las Vegas, according to online court records.
An autopsy was requested following Walker’s death, though results were not available as of Monday evening. Attempts to reach Walker’s family members have been unsuccessful, according to the department.
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.
Nevada
Is USPS breaking vow not to use Sacramento for Northern Nevada mail?
After widespread condemnation last year, the U.S. Postal Service backed away from plans to move its Reno mail-processing operations to Sacramento — but did it stay true to what it told the public?
The question arose recently after letters sent from one Carson City address to another in Carson City were both postmarked in Sacramento.
Northern Nevadans did not want first class mail sent from one Northern Nevada address to another going first to California. They sent a unified message to the USPS all the way up to the postmaster general.
Critics of the USPS plan were especially worried about delays from mail having to go back and forth over the Sierra during winter.
The Washoe County District Attorney’s office filed a lawsuit over the plan, the Washoe County Commission voted to oppose the plan, public comment was universally opposed, and Democratic and Republican elected officials from across the state joined to stop it.
Could it possibly have happened anyway? The answer is yes, temporarily, for a brief time.
How letters sent in Carson City came to be processed at Sacramento USPS facility
A reader told the Reno Gazette Journal they’d twice had letters internal to Carson City postmarked in Sacramento, so we asked USPS if the policy had changed.
“Mail processing for First Class mail that originates in Northern Nevada and is destined to Northern Nevada has not changed,” USPS spokesperson Sherry Patterson responded by email.
“However,” she added, “without the specific mail piece and class of mail, we cannot determined if there is an issue.”
The reader then supplied a photo of the two envelopes postmarked Nov. 5 in Sacramento, and this was shared with USPS.
“Our processing machine in Reno was temporarily out of service while we awaited a replacement part,” Patterson said after viewing the postmarks to nail down the specific date the letters went through Sacramento.
“To ensure that mail was not delayed during this time, we implemented a contingency plan that involved routing certain mail to our Sacramento facility for cancellation and processing. This measure allows us to maintain service continuity and minimize disruptions for our customers. We understand that this may cause some confusion, and we are committed to ensuring that all mail is processed efficiently and accurately.”
Bottom line: Regarding first class mail that’s being sent to and from Northern Nevada addresses, it’s still USPS policy to process that in Reno at its Vassar Street facility, she said.
The path these particular letters took, Patterson added, “is indeed an unusual occurrence.”
Mark Robison is the state politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal, with occasional forays into other topics. Email comments to mrobison@rgj.com or comment on Mark’s Greater Reno Facebook page.
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