DALTON — The longtime pairing of Josh Shepard (CC of Pittsfield) and Jamie Cimini (Thorny Lea) combined for a 7-under par 64 on Saturday to jump into a one-shot lead over three teams after 36 holes of the 54th Little Brown Jug best-ball tournament at Wahconah Country Club. Trailing two teams — Randy Driscoll-Jeff Puleri and Adam Brickle-Sam Roy — by two shots following an opening 67 on Friday, the 2022 Pewter Cup champions birdied six of their final 11 holes Saturday, with the Championship Flight starting on the back nine — to head into today’s final round on top. Shepard and Cimini have never won the Little Brown Jug, while Driscoll and Puleri last won in 2021 and 2022. While both of the first-round leading teams shot rounds of 4-under 71 on Saturday, the third team one shot behind, Andy Dastoli (The Orchards) and Thane Schinabeck (Ludlow CC), had the day’s second-best round with a 6-under 65. The Berkshire Hills duo of Driscoll and Puleri, winners of the Wyantenuck Summer Four-Ball, had five birdies and a single bogey on their card while Brickle (CC of Pittsfield) and Roy (Longmeadow CC) had a bogey-free round, finishing with five birdies and 13 pars. Brickle is on a roll, coming off winning the CCOP’s men’s club championship. The defending champions at Wahconah, Connecticut’s Bill Tefft and Brent Dietz (who now plays out of TPC Sawgrass) fell out of contention, having to settle for 1-over par 72 round and a 36-hole total of 3-under 139. The final groups in the Championship Flight are scheduled to tee off on the first tee at 2:10 p.m. When the final putt is made, the winners of all eight flights will be honored and, as is always the case at The Jug, a large crowd will be there to congratulate them.