RESERVE — Riverside pitcher Hailey Tassin celebrated her Senior Day in style.

Tassin blanked Chapelle over seven innings Wednesday as the Rebels continued their push to the potential top seed overall in the Class 2A postseason by besting the Chipmunks 1-0.

Tassin and the Rebel defense quelled a threatening Chapelle 7th inning after Natalie Hester and Robyn Ledet each singled to lead off the frame. Tassin struck out Sarah Ledet before getting a pair of groundouts, shortstop Erica Delaneuville flipping to third and then to second base to record both forceouts.

Tassin struck out just a lone batter but attacked the strike zone all game, issuing just one walk in her final regular season home game.

“I was feeling really calm, surprisingly,” Tassin said of taking the mound on Senior Day. “I knew my defense had my back. I have so much confidence in them. (To pitch a shutout Wednesday) was really, really exciting.”

The game’s lone run was scored in the second inning after Delaneuville and Lexi Johnson each singled with no outs. Abby Bourgeois hit a ground ball to move them over before Rayne Weber’s own groundout plated a run to make it 1-0.

Samantha Mracich took the hard-luck loss for Chapelle (8-8), holding Riverside to five hits and its lone run, the Rebels lowest output since a March 19 loss to Mount Carmel.

This time, however, it was enough for Riverside to earn its 11th consecutive victory.

Riverside coach Tamra Regalo said the final inning was “nerve-wracking,” but that she had confidence in Tassin “to get a couple of ground balls or pop flies” to end the inning.

“At that point, we were just concerned with getting the outs, regardless of who was on base,” Regalo said. “Hailey came to me before the season and said she’d do whatever she had to help get us to state, whether it be pitching, playing first base … she’s starting late with pitching, but for her to be doing this at this point has been huge for us.

“She’s a big, bubbly personality, and she’s having fun out there.”

Tassin, centerfielder Caitlin Roussel and Delaneuville were each honored after the game as the team’s three senior players. The three combined to deliver four of the team’s five hits.

The Rebels (16-5) have three games remaining: at home Monday against E.D. White, then on the road at Vandebilt Catholic and Northshore Tuesday and Wednesday. It seems extremely likely RA will conclude the season with the top seed in 2A; the Rebels had a rating of 14.369 as of Thursday evening, with No. 2 Menard at 12.896. The win over Chapelle was impactful, as the Chipmunks are the No. 19 rated team in Class 5A.

For Regalo, who is in her first season as a head softball coach, it’s been a terrific debut.

“We had some tough losses early and we weren’t really paying much mind to the (power) rankings, but now we’ve kind of had an eye on it, seeing who we’re going to play and what it’ll mean for us,” Regalo said. “We’re hoping to get those two home games to start us off.”