Brady Pennza doubled and homered in leading North past host Riverside in a six-inning, rain-shortened win on Friday, 11-3.

Pennza finished the game 3-for-4 with three runs scored, and he knocked in three more.

“It feels great,” he said of the big game. “We hit the ball well today, and we all had solid approaches. I felt great at the plate, and I really saw the ball well,l and I hope to have success like this in future games.”

North jumped on the Beavers with two runs in the top of the first.

Braylon Rolf reached on an error with two outs, and Pennza singled. Patrick Keough followed with an RBI double, and Pennza later scored on an error.

James Ozinga’s leadoff double led to a Riverside run in the bottom of the second, but North answered with two more in the third.

“That’s very important,” said North coach Mike Duncan about responding after Riverside scored. “We don’t want them to get back in the game, either literally or emotionally, and if we can either get a shutdown inning after we’ve scored, or when they score, we can put up a couple more, then that certainly is a good thing for us.”

Pennza led off the third with his first career home run.

“The homerun was great,” he said. “It was a second-pitch fastball that I jumped all over. I knew it was gone off the bat, and when it went out, I was obviously very hyped. It gave the team a lot of energy.”

Ethan Grinstead and Jacob Breen hit back-to-back one-out singles, and Grinstead scored on an error.

North exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning.

Keough was hit by a pitch to start the rally, and Grinstead singled. Joey Andolina’s sacrifice fly made it 5-1, and Nate Sagendorph singled to load the bases. Gerardo Torres then walked in a run, and Brady Trem singled home two more runs.

Rolf doubled, setting runners up at second and third for Pennza, who came through with a two-run double. Keough added an RBI single, pushing North’s lead to 11-1.

“We were scoring in bunches,” Duncan said. “We get a little bit of momentum rolling, and the kids just jump all over everything.”

That momentum led Pennza to a career night.

“It helps me a lot,” Pennza said. “It gives me the confidence to go up there knowing I can do damage along with my teammates.”

Riverside scored single runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings, but heavy rains forced the umpires to call the game after six.

Keough and Grinstead both finished the game 2-for-3. Keough doubled and knocked in two runs. Trem, Rolf, Jacob Breen, and Sagendorph each had one hit for the Rangers, who improved to 6-7 overall and 3-3 in the Western Reserve Conference.

Tyler Leasure went the distance on the mound. He allowed three earned runs on 11 hits and fanned eight.

“Ty did everything well,” Duncan said. “He didn’t walk anybody, and I think he had eight strikeouts. He gave up quite a few hits, but they were all hits with nobody on base or with a guy on first, and we were able to keep him at second or third. He did a great job for us.”

North hosts rival South on Monday.