IPPLEPEN defeated Abbotskerswell by 30 runs in the basement battle at Moor Lane to shoot clear of the relegation danger zone.
As the Pens have not been far from the bottom two all season, their freshly minted six-point safety margin will be welcome.
Abbots have been stuck in the bottom two for the past five rounds and this defeat left them with 11 points to find to get out of it.
Marcus Gadie (45) and Jono Colegate (22) were Ipplepen’s primary run getters in a total of 145 all out. They put on 67 for the second wicket.
Noah Rider, in at 94 for three, made 20 while adding what proved to be a priceless 31 runs with three different partners.
Young spinner Alfie Harrison (4-23) continued to impress with the ball for Abbots. Jay Hussain and Charlie Smout-Cooper claimed two wickets each.
Abbotskerswell, dipped to 52 for five on the chase, recovered to reach 101 for six, then collapsed in a heap to 115 all out.
Ed Smout-Cooper (22) was the lone top-five batter to last long. Harrison (27) and Tom Heath (22) regrouped in the middle. No one else made more than a dozen.
George Tapley (3-37) and Ash Harvey (2-30) posed the initial problems with the ball that Abbots could not get over. Joe Parker (2-1) swept-up at the end.
Matt Beasant, the Ipplepen captain, said his side showed fighting qualities at the right times.
“I think we got away with one on Saturday,” said Beasant, who has skippered two wins over Abbots this season.
“We were under par with the bat, another middle order collapse is something we have to rectify.
“Our bowling and fielding bailed us out again. Joe Parker came on at a crucial time and finished the game off like it was nothing.
“Noah Rider taking one of the best catches I've seen at short cover gave us massive momentum early on.”
Toby Codd, Abbotskerswell’s player-coach, saidit was not hard to pin-pioint where it went wrong.
“I thought we did well to restrict Ipplepen to 145, but no one took responsibility with the bat,” said Codd.
“Ipplepen bowled nicely, but we didn't show the fight needed to chase the score.
“A really frustrating day for us.”
