Nashua jumped to a five-run lead after its first at bat and led by eight after two innings as the New Hampshire state champion downed host Suburban, Vt., 9-3, as the New England Babe Ruth 14-year-old Baseball Tournament opened in Winooski, Vt., Saturday night.

The game was terminated, with the consent of both teams and the umpires, after six innings of play because of darkness. There are no lights at the facility.

“We pitched just about every pitcher on our team as we saw how the game was unfolding,” said Nashua coach Shannon Dunn. “We got a lot of early experience for our pitchers and our bench players. Everyone played at least one inning as we rested the starters early.”

Leading the Nashua offense were DJ McCord who hit a triple and Mike Habibi who went two-for-four. The Gate City squad finished with eight hits and took advantage of a half dozen bases on balls.

Nashua sees its first winners' bracket game this evening against Leominster, Mass., at 6 p.m.