By MYRNA FOSTER
Moapa Valley Progress
Overton residents Richard and Lorraine O’Dell followed the Little League World Series more carefully than usual this year. Ashton Cave, coach for the Mountain Ridge Little League team from Las Vegas, is the O’Dell’s son. And Dallan Cave, who hit a home run against thirteen-year-old Philadephia pitcher Mo’Ne Davis in the semifinals of the Little League World Series on August 20, is their grandson.
Davis is the first Little League player that has ever been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Philadelphia lost 8-1 to Las Vegas, and then was eliminated by Chicago the next day.
According to Lorraine O’Dell, her son’s team went undefeated until Saturday, August 23. They took best in Las Vegas, best in Nevada, best in regionals, and then became the first Vegas team to play in the Little League World Series.
O’Dell said, “Ashton’s a marvelous, positive coach.” She said that he wanted all of the boys to experience playing in the World Series, so he played all of them. Coach Cave, who is a firefighter for the Clark County Fire Deparment, said the experience would make the boys better fathers and community members.
O’Dell said that the family gathered at Buffalo Wild Wings in Las Vegas to watch Saturday’s game. They wore shirts with Dallan’s number and last name. She said that ESPN and the Review Journal were there to interview them and take photos.
Chicago beat Mountain Ridge in Saturday’s game 7-5. Mountain Ridge had beaten Chicago earlier in the series.
On Sunday, South Korea beat Chicago 8-4, taking the Championship, and Japan beat our Vegas team in the consolation game 5-0.
When asked how he felt about the outcome, Richard O’Dell said, “Out of 6,500 Little League teams, they took fourth in the world, second in the nation.” He went on to say that there are over two million youth in the Little League program. He was thrilled for the Mountain Ridge team.
“I couldn’t be more proud,” Lorraine O’Dell said. “It’s something that will never happen again. It’s just phenomenal.”
Las Vegas is holding a parade in the team’s honor on Saturday, August 30. The parade will start at 9:00 am at Las Vegas City Hall and end at Town Square.
