It came down to the wire but Napoleons-Sebastopol got the job done for the second time this season against Ballarat-Redan.
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Fourth versus fifth going into the weekend, the game promised plenty.
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For Ballarat-Redan, a win was vital to draw even on points with Napoleons-Sebastopol.
The Two Swords innings didn't get off to the best of starts, Napoleons-Sebastopol's bowling attack able to keep the run rate low for the majority of the first 30 overs.
Luke Corden and Viraj Pushpakumara had a lot to do with that.
The latter was impressive with 2-20 from eight overs, including four maidens.
For Corden, although he didn't claim a wicket, his 0-25 figures from 10 overs were important to slow Ballarat-Redan down and build pressure with a handful of lbw appeals and a couple just sneaking past the bat.
Zac Jenkins (23) and Max Riding (13) both got starts, but like a lot of the Two Swords batting line-up, couldn't go on with it.
Jayden Hayes (31) and Billy Jones (45*) helped lift their total to 174 and the game was on.
Napoleons-Sebastopol faced the same start as its opponent did with the bat, falling to 3-60.
Corden steadied the side with 36 before he was run out, with Nathan Doonan following soon after for a duck, Ballarat-Redan seemingly in the box seat.
With a season average of 28.57 heading into the game, Corey Hucker may not have been the first player thought of as the potential match winner, but that's what he proved to be.
In his return to the side he impressed with 56 not out from 62 balls, leading Napoleons-Sebastopol to a two-wicket win in the 49th over.
It now enjoys a two-game buffer inside the top four.
Ballarat-Redan
M RIDING b Pushpakumara 13
Z JENKINS lbw b Dissanayaka 23
J HAYES c Pushpakumara b Storey 31
M SANDFORD c Corden b Pushpakumara 4
B HOSEMANS c Calder b Storey 14
B JONES not out 45
M AIKMAN c Pushpakumara b Storey 10
C EGAN b Coxall 11
R FISHER not out 18
Sundries 5
Total: 7-174, Overs: 50
Fall: 38, 47, 63, 89, 91, 109, 135
Bowling: J Coxall 7-0-25-1, N Pantzidis 5-0-17-0, L Corden 10-2-25-0, S Dissanayaka 10-0-44-1, V Pushpakumara 8-4-20-2, L Storey 10-2-43-3
Naps-Sebas
D SCOTT c Fisher b Aikman 11
S DISSANAYAKA c & b Thomson 0
J RAMSEY c Egan b Hayes 25
L CORDEN run out 36
V PUSHPAKUMARA st Fisher b Hayes 6
C HUCKER not out 56
N DOONAN c Hosemans b Thomson 0
N PANTZIDIS run out 12
S CALDER c Jones b Jenkins 8
J COXALL not out 7
Sundries 16
Total: 8-177, Overs: 48.4
Fall: 1, 28, 60, 89, 96, 96, 139, 158
Bowling: B Thomson 8.5-1-21-2, B Jones 7-0-33-0, J Hayes 9.1-1-29-2, M Aikman 8.4-0-32-1, Z Jenkins 10-1-40-1, J Landwehr 5-0-19-0
Roosters fight back for important win
It was a seesawing affair at Mt Clear, but North Ballarat managed to salute for its most important win of the season to date.
Openers Leigh Lorenzen and Mitchell Zakynthinos departed for ducks to begin the Roosters' innings, leaving them 2-20 and in a bit of a hole.
A 59-run stand by Dylan Price (25) and Mick Nolan (42) steadied the ship before they both departed quickly, the Roosters falling to 4-79.
All out for 151, Mt Clear had every right to feel in the box seat to claim its second win of the season.
The momentum quickly shifted, Mt Clear openers Matt Goonan and Matthew Ward going one better than the Roosters' openers and both departing first ball.
When Tom Le Lievre was dismissed soon after for 12, Mt Clear slumped to 3-15 and the game was nearly out of reach.
Enter Jarrod Burns.
Burns smashed 61 from 44 balls and built a 90-run partnership with Jack Jeffrey to lead Mt Clear to 3-105.
The pair seemed destine to lead Mt Clear to a win, with Burns finding the boundary at ease, hitting seven fours and four sixes.
It unraveled once Ash McCafferty dismissed Burns lbw.
The home side lost 6-16 and the game was snatched from its grasp.
McCafferty was superb, picking up two early wickets and cleaning up the tail to finish with figures of 6-19 from 10 overs.
North Ballarat
L LORENZEN c Mani b Payne 0
M ZAKYNTHINOS c Smith b Payne 0
D PRICE c Goonan b Burns 25
M NOLAN c Payne b Burns 42
V DABRA b Burns 2
A MCCAFFERTY b George 5
J MCGUIRE lbw b Burns 3
S JACKSON run out 14
B PRICE b Le Lievre 15
J HUMPHRIES not out 6
M NICHOLSON b Mani 16
Sundries 23
Total: 151, Overs: 35.4
Fall: 0, 20, 79, 79, 83, 89, 103, 108, 121, 151
Bowling: L Payne 6-2-15-2, J Jeffrey 1-0-19-0, Y Mani 5.4-1-31-1, J Burns 10-1-34-4, A George 9-0-29-1, T Le Lievre 4-1-23-1
Mt Clear
M GOONAN c Lorenzen b McCafferty 0
M WARD c B Price b Nicholson 0
T LE LIEVRE b McCafferty 12
J BURNS lbw b McCafferty 61
J JEFFREY c Dabra b Lorenzen 19
J SMITH c McGuire b Lorenzen 0
T LANDT b McCafferty 3
A GEORGE c Dabra b Lorenzen 5
D CARTON lbw b McCafferty 0
Y MANI lbw b McCafferty 1
L PAYNE not out 1
Sundries 21
Total: 123, Overs: 31
Fall: 0, 5, 15, 105, 107, 110, 115, 120, 120, 123
Bowling: A McCafferty 10-2-19-6, M Nicholson 5-1-23-1, S Jackson 4-1-13-0, L Lorenzen 10-3-28-3, V Dabra 2-0-23-0
Buninyong hold on in shoot-out
Buninyong impressed with the bat and managed to slow down an East Ballarat side that was fast out of the blocks in reply to claim an important victory.
The Bunnies posted 5-238, thanks in large part to Liam Brady (56*) and the power hitting of David Ellis (57*) at the end of the innings.
Adam Eddy provided the ideal start for the visitors, dismissing Buninyong opener Rupinder Singh lbw first ball.
It was all Buninyong from then on.
Liam Rigby (40) and Robert Hind (42) steadied the ship to post a 90-run partnership.
Brady came to the crease with Buninyong 2-92 and looked as comfortable as ever on his way to a half-century.
He was joined by Ellis with Buninyong 5-158 and the pair pushed the total well beyond 200.
The pair worked superbly with each other, Brady continuing to rotate the strike, allowing Ellis to showcase his power hitting.
East Ballarat fell quickly to 2-35 in reply but a 69-run partnership between Harry Ganley (49) and Lewis Hodgins (67) got the Hawks back on track.
Jacob Eyers added a timely 45 and at 4-194, a win seemed within reach for the visitors.
Buninyong's attack put its foot down, however, taking 5-13 to rip the game away from East Ballarat.
Singh made up for his duck with the bat to finish with figures of 4-54 with the ball.
Rigby added 2-44 from his eight overs.
Buninyong
R HIND b Jerram 42
R SINGH lbw b Eddy 0
L RIGBY c & b Jerram 40
L BRADY not out 56
T PARSONS c Jeffrey b Jerram 5
T DITTLOFF c Ganley b Nichols 14
D ELLIS not out 57
Sundries 24
Total: 5-238, Overs: 50
Fall: 2, 92, 110, 126, 158
Bowling: A Eddy 8-0-35-1, K Ettridge 3-0-20-0, H Ganley 4-1-14-0, L Hodgins 10-0-68-0, C Jerram 10-0-24-3, H Givvens 10-4-25-0, J Nichols 5-0-40-1
East Ballarat
K EYERS lbw b Hatton 13
H GIVVENS b Rigby 0
H GANLEY c Dittloff b Hind 49
L HODGINS c Dittloff b Singh 67
J EYERS c Ellis b Singh 45
T JEFFREY run out 3
K ETTRIDGE c Ryan b Singh 0
C JERRAM b Singh 6
B WHITTAKER b Rigby 3
J NICHOLS not out 2
A EDDY not out 13
Sundries 26
Total: 9-227, Overs: 50
Fall: 2, 35, 104, 179, 194, 198, 198, 207, 207
Bowling: D Ellis 3-0-14-0, L Rigby 8-0-44-2, K Hatton 10-1-28-1, L Mason 10-2-33-0, R Singh 9-0-54-4, R Hind 10-0-43-1
Pointies run out of steam against Wendouree
Golden Point gave its run chase a red-hot crack, but ultimately ran out of time to fall by 50 runs to Wendouree.
The top side started in impressive fashion, Cole Roscholler (58) and Sam Miller (29) doing what they do best at the top of the order.
At 2-114 the Red Caps were cruising and with Oliver Mahncke's 64 added to the equation, 250 seemed a possibility.
The Pointies were able to stem the bleeding once Mahncke departed, taking 3-26 to keep Wendouree's total at a manageable 232.
Manjula De Zoysa (4-50 from 10 overs) led the way with the ball.
The run chase could not have started worse, opener James Lewis run out without facing a delivery.
The top order pushed on and kept the tally ticking over but struggled to make a significant dint, Joshua Pegg (24), Joshua White (19) and De Zoysa (18) all getting starts but unable to continue on.
Lachlan Herring (65*) provided a glimpse of hope for the Pointies but the total proved too big a task, Golden Point finishing 8-182 from its 50 overs.
Wendouree
C ROSCHOLLER c McDonald b Pegg 58
S MILLER c Warrick b De Zoysa 29
O MAHNCKE c Ogilvie b De Zoysa 64
H PYKE b Hucker 6
T MAPLE c Parker b Warrick 8
R SIMMONDS c Pegg b De Zoysa 37
L WOOD st Parker b De Zoysa 4
L ARGALL b McDonald 5
Z MAPLE not out 3
T BATTERS not out 1
Sundries 17
Total: 8-232, Overs: 50
Fall: 85, 114, 130, 145, 204, 223, 224, 230
Bowling: A Warrick 7-1-29-1, D McDonald 7-1-39-1, S Ogilvie 7-0-25-0, M De Zoysa 10-1-50-4, J Lewis 9-1-38-0, J Pegg 5-0-26-1, R Hucker 5-0-19-1
Golden Point
J PEGG c Pyke b Argall 24
J LEWIS run out 0
J WHITE c Wood b Argall 19
M DE ZOYSA run out 18
L HERRING not out 65
J BAMBURY b Simmonds 14
S OGILVIE c Argall b T Maple 5
L PARKER st Mahncke b T Maple 20
R HUCKER c Argall b Batters 1
D MCDONALD not out 2
Sundries 14
Total: 8-182, Overs: 50
Fall: 0, 42, 47, 69, 107, 112, 158, 170
Bowling: T Batters 9-1-34-1, T Kilcullen 5-0-21-0, S Miller 10-2-22-0, L Argall 10-2-31-2, T Maple 10-0-40-2, R Simmonds 6-0-25-1
Darley prevails in low-scoring contest
Despite a competitive showing with the ball from Brown Hill, Darley was able to salute and keep its spot in second on the ladder.
For a fleeting moment Brown Hill could see the nightmare of round one about to repeat itself, falling to 2-3 early in its innings.
While the final score of 109, thanks in large part to Lincoln Koliba's 48, seemed to not be enough, it was a competitive fight back from the winless Bulls.
Mitchell Ward did all the damage with the ball for Darley, picking up 5-39 from his 10 overs, which included three maidens.
While Darley's chase didn't begin in the most dominant fashion, it cruised to 3-52 and seemed comfortable enough.
Brown Hill managed to then claim 4-38 to leave Darley 7-90 and while the game still never seemed in doubt, it was an impressive display with the ball by the Bulls.
The Lions finished 7-111 to take the points, now turning their attention to Golden Point on Wednesday.
Brown Hill
P PRIYANKARA b M Ward 1
D ROMERIL c Chandima b M Ward 13
K DOBELL c Pickett b M Ward 0
N PORTER c Pickett b Khwaja 3
R KNOWLES lbw b M Ward 14
L KOLIBA lbw b Chandima 48
J KNOWLES c B Ward b M Ward 2
R WYND c B Ward b Khwaja 3
D WALLER lbw b Chandima 14
T BOURKE-FINN not out 3
T APPLETON b Wickramasinghe 0
Total: 109, Overs: 40.5
Fall: 3, 3, 14, 28, 41, 55, 63, 99, 108, 109
Bowling: M Ekanayaka 5-1-13-0, M Ward 10-3-39-5, R Khwaja 7-3-26-2, D Chandima 10-2-19-2, H Wickramasinghe 8.5-4-9-1
Darley
D CHANDIMA c Koliba b Dobell 17
D HYATT c Romeril b Dobell 26
B WARD c ? b J Knowles 1
H WICKRAMASINGHE not out 26
M WARD c Romeril b J Knowles 0
B BARNES c Romeril b Priyankara 9
B GELLIE lbw b Appleton 14
E THEWMA c R Knowles b Appleton 0
R KHWAJA not out 16
Sundries 2
Total: 7-111, Overs: 31.5
Fall: 34, 40, 52, 55, 70, 90, 90
Bowling: P Priyankara 8-1-27-1, T Bourke-Finn 7-0-33-0, K Dobell 5-0-14-2, J Knowles 8-1-20-2, T Appleton 3-1-5-2, R Knowles 0.5--12-0
TOP PERFORMERS
BATTING
Lewis Hodgins (East Ballarat) - 67
Lachlan Herring (Golden Point) - 65*
Oliver Mahncke (Wendouree) - 64
Jarrod Burns (Mt Clear) - 61
Cole Roscholler (Wendouree) - 58
BOWLING
Ash McCafferty (North Ballarat) - 6-19
Mitchell Ward (Darley) - 5-39
Jarrod Burns (Mt Clear) - 4-34
Manjula De Zoysa (Golden Point) - 4-50
Rupinder Singh (Buninyong) - 4-54
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