BARNSTAPLE & Pilton made Seaton work hard for the three-wicket win that sent them back to the B Division after an absence of a decade.
Seaton were relegated from the Premier Division in 2005 and went through the A and B Divisions in successive seasons during a difficult time for the club.
After James Thomas went for 21 of the first 31 on the board, Brady Saunders (34) and Jack Moore (37) added 66 for the second wicket.
After Moore fell to Brian Cann there was a further stand of 33 between Saunders and Henry McEndoo.
Ben Morgan – two for 23 from nine overs – broke the stand and two more wickets fell reaching 142 for five.
McEndoo went on to top score on 47 before he was last out off the final ball in a total of 181 for seven.
Cann, Joel Seward and Chris Aplin all bowled at between two and three an over on a difficult day for batters.
Seaton soon found out how hard runs were to find as both Moores – dad Steve and lad Jack – slowed them right down.
The difference between winning and losing was an unbeaten 93 from Seaton opener Cann, who saw off everything B&P could bowl at him.
Next best was skipper Morgan with 45. He and Cann put on 72 in a key third-wicket stand.
Seaton crept over the line with two overs and two balls to spare.
CLYST Hydon boosted their survival prospects in the C Division East with a run-rate win over Uplyme.
Matt Fitt scored a timely 54 down the order at No.8 to help Hydon reach 197 all out with an over to go.
Mike Cliff had 30 opening up and Simon Holmes chipped in with 17 before Uplyme got on top with the ball.
Hydon were an unimpressive 89 for six when Fitt went out having run into trouble against James Whetlor (2-22) and Mike van den Berg (3-23).
Fitt was the last man out having put on 42 with Oz Besley (14) and 47 with last man Will Thornton, who made just four.
Rain breaks meant Uplyme had a target of 148 to win in 33 overs – and they got nowhere near it.
Thornton (2-15) and Dhanuja Haturusingha (2-13) helped reduce Uplyme to 94 for six when the overs ran out.
Clyst are not out of danger yet, but were the only team in the bottom four to win and are now 15 points clear of Countess Wear in the second relegation place.
A win over Feniton this Saturday should ensure safety, otherwise they face a last-day showdown with Barnstaple & Pilton, who are also fighting to save off relegation.
COUNTESS Wear go into Saturday’s clash with Uplyme under pressure to get a win after losing at Feniton last time out.
Only 23 points separate Axminster (155), the Wear (163) Barnstaple & Pilton (167) and Clyst Hydon (178) in the scrap to stay up. Countess Wear go down if they stay where they are.
Feniton made 255 for four in 44 overs – former captain Mark Kingdon stroking 84 off 107 balls.
Kingdon and in-form Graham Tucker (51) put on 147 for the second wicket after opener Mark Salter had gone cheaply.
There was a brief lull as Tucker, Kingdon and Tom Plance went for three runs added – Mark Davey (2-56) striking twice.
Alex Frankpitt (66) and Charlie Selley (26) put on 96 unbroken to see out the innings.
Countess Wear were all out for 151 with more than 18 overs to go, losing by 104 runs.
Gavin Darke (44) and James Bogue (21) got them to 70 for one, then four wickets fell for eight runs scored (78-5) and 89 for six when Kam Singh got out was hardly an improvement.
Selley (3-52) did most of the damage, aided and abetted by skipper Jon Pyle.
Darren Rice (28no) and John Bendall (25) affected something of a comeback, but the game had gone by then.
Pyle finished with five for 37 from nine overs to send Countess Wear to defeat.
CULLOMPTON secured maximum batting points against Axminster before rain stopped play to keep their play-off hopes alive.
Seaton are definitely up as champions, but Filleigh (215), Cullompton (211) and Kilmington (207) remain in contention for the runners-up spot.
With Kilmington and Filleigh to play on the last two Saturday’s of the season, no wonder Cully captain James Blackmore said: “It is in our hands now.
He added: “If we win both games we go up - that’s all we need to concentrate on.”
Tafara Mupariwa blazed away for 133 that took Cully to all five batting points.
The Zimbabwean put on 101 for the first wicket with Jason Parr (40) and 98 for the fourth with Brenton Parr.
After Mupariwa fell at 225 for four, there was a further partnership of 55 unbroken between Brendon Parr (41) and Adrian Pullin (22) to reach 280 for four.
Axminster were eight for nine in the third over when the weather set in.
Axminster, still battling to avoid relegation, entertain neighbours Seaton on Saturday looking for a win to avoid being cast adrift at the bottom.
FILLEIGH make the short trip to Barnstaple & Pilton this Saturday for a game neither side can afford to lose.
Simon Prideaux’s Filleigh side are in the thick of the hand-to-hand fighting at the top of the table for the play-off place.
Seaton are already up as champions – they defeated Barnstaple & Pilton last Saturday to clinch the title – with Filleigh (215pts), Cullompton (211) and Kilmington (207) all chasing second place.
The runners-up in the division will face either Abbotskerswell or Alphington for a place in next season’s B Division.
Filleigh had hoped to knock Kilmington out of the equation last Saturday, but that game ended early when rain-stopped play without a result.
Filleigh play Cullompton in the final day of the season and don’t want to be playing catch-up, which is why beating B&P is so important.
Steve Moore’s B&P side are one place and four points clear of the second relegation place, currently occupied by Countess Wear. Axminster, a further eight points behind, can still stay up if they start winning and their rivals lose.
Any result other than a win leaves Moore & Co relying on beating Clyst Hydon on the last day of the season – and for results involving Countess Wear and Axminster to go their way.
Filleigh made 220 all out at Kilmington – Macauley Harrison-Hooton leading the way with 55 after opener Justin Saker made 33.
There was a stand of 57 with Jas Kalsi (26) and another of 43 with Connor Nash (25).
Craig Seward (2-39) and Josh Short (2-44) kept it round five an over when they were bowling. Tom Gooding (3-51) was a bit more expensive.
Kilmington were 11 for none in the second over when rain stopped play.
