Budleigh Salterton leapfrogged their hosts from Tavistock in the A Division of the Tolchards Devon Cricket League with a thrilling three-run victory.
The home side elected to bat first and made a solid start before Jack England grabbed a vital breakthrough, removing Harry Geering for 11 with Matthew Kimber taking the catch.
Budleigh kept plugging away in the field and got some reward when Joel Murphy bowled William Barriball for 15, but this is when Tavvy started to fight back.
Opener James White was the linchpin, eventually falling to the bowling of Will Oxland for 49, but there was no way past a belligerent David Manning, who finished on 83 not out.
Max Mejzner, Murphy and Edward Doble did take wickets in the middle order, as Tavistock finished on a respectable 231/6, a target revised to 230.
Disaster struck early in the reply, when Will Oxland was trapped leg before without troubling the scorers and when number three Charles Parkin was stumped for just 1, Budleigh were reeling at 24-2.
The main solace came in the form of opener Harry Parkin, who was quietly going about his business, but the loss of partners was becoming alarming, as Matthew Kimber managed just 4 before being caught and bowled by Lee Baker.
Number five Samuel Whitehead read the script and calmly put together 36 runs from 75 balls, taking the score to 121-4 when he was dismissed.
Harry Parkin, meanwhile, kept on frustrating the Tavvy attack, finally falling for 76, leaving Budleigh with 72 runs required from 73 balls.
Ed Doble hit a fine six to reach a decent 38, only to lose his wicket two balls later, although his partnership with Tom Oxland had reduced the required run rate.
A run out for Oxland failed to disrupt the Budleigh momentum, with captain Lloyd Murrin (20 no) and Max Mejzner (11 no) sealing the victory with just five balls to spare.
The challenge steps up a notch for Budleigh this weekend, as they welcome third-placed Torquay CC, with Plympton in fourth the next visitors.