Matadors Give 49ers Handout : College baseball: CSUN miscues keep it close until Long Beach wins in 10th, 5-4.

Bill Kernen, the Cal State Northridge baseball coach, says his team has the free-market system all messed up. The Matadors don’t understand that credits are far better than debits in simple economics.

“I’m opening up a gift shop,” Kernen grumbled. “But there’s one difference. We give everybody the merchandise for free.”

The Matadors went bust again Tuesday, allowing runs in each of the last four innings as ninth-ranked Long Beach State rallied to win in 10 innings, 5-4, in a nonconference game at Matador Field.

There was nothing cheap about the last two 49er runs. Former Westlake High standout Tim Falsken homered to lead off the ninth to tie the score, 4-4, and Nate Vopata did likewise for what proved to be the game-winner in the 10th.

Yet Kernen maintained it should never have come to that. He certainly had a point--Long Beach (18-5) managed all of three singles off right-hander Rick Orr over the first seven innings, yet trailed only 3-2.

Orr gave up three runs over 7 1/3 innings, one earned. Even the earned run was tainted: One of Orr’s knuckle-curves skidded to the backstop for a wild pitch with two out in the seventh as the 49ers closed to within 3-2.

“It’s a tough pitch to control,” said Orr, who walked eight, struck out six and tied a school record with four wild pitches.

Northridge still held a 3-2 lead in the eighth when third baseman Tyler Nelson threw away a grounder by Kirk Pierce for a two-base error. Pinch-runner Steve Rivera took third on a wild pitch, and after a walk, Orr was replaced by Jason Vargas.

Vargas (1-1) retired Ramon Smith on a grounder, but Rivera scored from third to tie the score, 3-3. Northridge (15-13) moved back ahead, 4-3, in the bottom of the eighth on Joey Arnold’s run-scoring single with two out.

Falsken’s homer leading off the ninth ended a long power drought by the 49er third baseman. Falsken missed the first 10 games with a hamstring pull, then homered on the first pitch of his first game. He didn’t go deep again until he unloaded on Vargas.

The opposite-field shot hit by Vopata to open the 10th, his first, didn’t seem all too dangerous when it left the bat. But left fielder Brian Vasey kept drifting in reverse until he ran out of room at the wall.

“I thought it was a popup,” Vargas said. “It just kept on going back. . . . I just couldn’t put (the game) away.”

Neither could the offense. While holding a 3-1 lead, the Matadors botched sacrifice-bunt attempts in the sixth and seventh to short-circuit potential rallies. Northridge stranded 10 and had a runner picked off second with none out in the sixth.

“(Long Beach) did nothing offensively,” Kernen said. “It was Christmas again.”