The Newtown Bulldogs opened their fourth season in the Northeast Baseball Association over-30 League with a 10-0 win over the Ridgefield Reds and a 17-5 win over the Bridgewater Pirates in the first two weekends.

“Hopefully we can take it to the next level this year,” said  Michael Paes. “We have most of the same guys coming back, but there is some new blood which will fill in some holes for us.”

The Bulldogs have assembled a pitching staff that will be led, again, by Dan Longest. Also pitching will be Stan Partyka, Paul Carpenter, Jim Cebry and Joe Ruggiero, who has moved out from behind the plate because of the addition of his cousin, John Cross.

Paes and Gene Walsh will share time at first while Randy Dieckman, Carpenter, Partyka and Ruggiero will play the infield. In the outfield, Rich and Rory Dieckman will play alongside Cebry, John Lapinski and Dan Spencer.

The Bulldogs are sponsored by the law office of Paes & Paes, LLC, in Newtown.

They opened the season with a 10-0 win over Ridgefield as Longest pitched five innings of no-hit ball. Partyka led the offense with three hits and then picked up the save with three innings of one-hit pitching. Randy Dieckman, Lapinski and Cross had two hits apiece.

In a 17-5 win over Bridgewater, Randy Dieckman had two hits and four RBI. Dieckman belted a long home run down the third base line in the seventh inning. Carpenter, Longest, Cross and Lapinski had two hits apiece.

“Usually it’s our arms that lead us – not our bats,” said Paes. “But I’m not complaining.”

Longest pitched five strong innings to pick up his second win while Ruggiero picked up his first save, finishing off the final two innings.