BIG INNING CARRIES CSUN CSUN 10, LONG BEACH 8.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer

For the first time in three games, the hunted became the hunter. Neither Cal State Northridge nor Long Beach State was particularly successful in the former role this weekend. Even until the last out.

The 15th-ranked Matadors beat Long Beach State 10-8 on Sunday at Matador Field and salvage the finale of a three-game Big West Conference series.

Rallying from 4-1 down and then quelling a Long Beach (30-19, 11-7) rally in the ninth pushed Northridge (36-16, 16-5) to a two-game lead over Cal State Fullerton (14-7), which lost by the same score Sunday to UC Riverside.

Three other Big West teams - Long Beach, UC Irvine (12-6) and Cal Poly (11-7) - are stalking the Matadors, who for the first time in the series had a different mentality.

``In the sixth inning I looked up,'' CSUN coach Mike Batesole said, ``and (the 49ers) were protecting the weekend and we were chasing them all of a sudden.''

That was about the time Jason Allec hit a two-run home run to cut the 49ers' lead to 4-3. In the eighth, the Matadors scored seven runs, keyed by a Tim Arroyo three-run homer, to temporarily take command at 10-5.

Long Beach State, regaining its place as the pursuer, made the Matadors sweat through a three-run ninth before Kameron Loe, who pitched 5 2/3 innings as the starter Saturday, got the final two outs with the tying runs on second and third.

``That was pretty crazy,'' Arroyo said of a ninth that featured right fielder Eric Verbryke keeping a potential game-tying home run by Chris Genung in the ballpark when he reached over the fence, snared the ball but lost it crashing to the ground. Genung got a double out of it, but Loe stranded the runners.

``We were up by that much, but we had to win it,'' said Verbryke, who went 4 for 5 with two RBI.

CSUN, which got 4 1/3 unsung relief innings from usual closer Phil Polanco and 1 2/3 from a weary Andy Davidson (10-2), has some breathing room atop the Big West with one series remaining. But Batesole would rather see his club approach the game as it did in the late innings Sunday.

``Somehow we're going to have to remember what that felt like and make sure when we come out Friday for that first game (against UC Irvine) for that first inning that we're doing the chasing,'' Batesole said.