Julius Leslie produced a fine all-round display with 77 and four wickets but it couldn't save Horspath 3rd from a 36-run defeat in their Cherwell League Division 3B top-of-the-table clash at home to leaders Oxford & Bletchingdon Nondescripts.
The 16-year-old took 4-63 off 10 overs as the visitors posted a challenging 239 all out after being put in to bat and then led Horspath's run chase only for the side to fall short on 203-9.
The loss sees Horspath drop to third in the promotion race, three points behind Bledlow Ridge in second while Nondies now have an 18-point cushion at the top with two games to go.
The visitors' score was built around a third-wicket stand of 113 between Sayyid Hashim Ali Shah (71) and captain Nabeel Khan (61).
Leslie broke their partnership when he had Khan caught by Luke Finch and went on to claim three more victims with good support from Dan Stanley (3-28).
Horspath's reply, though, was checked by the loss of wickets at regular intervals.
Leslie kept the hosts in the game, hitting seven fours in his 93-ball knock, with support from Dan Corner (29) and Luke Heritage (21), but when he was bowled by Danial Khan to make it 173-9 the game was up.
Last pair Sifat Habibi (19no) and Sammy Parker added late runs before the close as the wickets were shared.
Horspath will bid to get back on track on Saturday at Wolvercote, who lost to Buckingham Town 2nd by five wickets.
Horspath 4th found Bledlow Village 2nd too strong in Division 6C, going down to a seven-wicket defeat at the Bucks club.
Eddie Gadd (24) was the only Horspath batsman to make an impact as the side were bowled out for 92 after opting to make first use of the pitch.
Tom Smith then picked up 2-20 as Bledlow eased home at 93-3 with James Bacon (39no) and opener John Dumbarton (31) to the fore.
The loss confirmed the side's relegation ahead of Saturday's home game against Kimble, who beat Stokenchurch 2nd by six wickets.
Horspath CC would like to thank the following 2026 Player Sponsors:
Amin Rafiq (STRONG Pilates Oxford)
Asad Rafiq (STRONG Pilates Oxford)
Will Eason (Oxford Marquees)
Josh Richardson (Steve Richardson)
Tyrone Eyles (Interduct UK Ltd)
Robbie Eason (ARB UK Ltd)
Tom Coleman (RJA & SL Coleman)
Ryan Hicks (Green & Wakefield)
Ehsan Hussain (RMA Properties)
Tom Nichols (Savona Foodservice)
Josh Cummings (Gardiners Opticians)