Bath remain top of the embryonic Wadworth 6X West of England Premier 1 table after scraping past Ilminster in a low-scoring affair at North Parade.
Having been asked to bat under grey skies by Bath skipper Robin Lett, Ilminster made a positive start and took 14 runs from Lloyd Davies' opening over.
It was Davies who struck first, however, when he removed captain Louis Kraucamp for 20. Despite not being at their best, the Bath attack, led by Jon Green (4-26), made steady progress through the visitors' batting line-up as wickets fell at regular intervals.
Matthew Burfield (35) made the only significant contribution towards a total of 122 all out.
Chasing the target should have been straightforward but last season's runners-up did not factor in the performance of the inspired Kraucamp.
He bowled his team into a match-winning position in taking the first five Bath wickets to fall on his way to figures of 10-2-35-5, including Will Jenkins and Davies for ducks.
Bath looked dead and buried at 35-5 and again at 95-8 but Tim Rouse once more showed his ability and led from the front.
The 16 year-old Kingswood School pupil batted with great composure for the second week running and marshalled the tail superbly as the target got closer.
It was therefore fitting that he hit the winning runs to finish on a crucial 45 not out to see the Swords home by two wickets.
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