From the word go, the 10-11 Nogales National Little League All-Star team jumped on its Payson counterparts and kept pouncing until the 10-run mercy rule was called into play after the fourth inning Wednesday night.

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The 10-0 victory boosted Nogales to 2-0 in state tournament play �” and left the winless Payson squad scratching its collective noggin.

“We didn’t come to play,” said Payson skipper Ty Goodman, “We don’t play ball like that. In district we were flawless. Our kids are not showing up to play ball. I’m not sure what they’re thinking about. It’s not the Payson team that I know.”

While Goodman seemed emotionally drained after the loss, the pin that likely popped Payson’s balloon was a two-run homer by Jorge Watson on a high fastball in the early going.

“I heard the sound, and I thought, ‘oh, it’s totally gone,’” said Watson, who has three dingers in All-Star play and nine on the season.

Payson, however, didn’t help itself with eight errors on the night that resulted in six of Nogales’ runs.

Five of those runs came in the first inning. Nogales added two more in the second, two in the third and one in the fourth with the help of hits by David Aguirre, Edgar Ambriz and Adalberto Diaz. Sebastian Robles also had two singles and Damian Mendoza plugged a two-RBI single in his team’s cause.

Nogales’ defensive charge was led by pitcher Czarina Lorta, who has only given up seven hits and one run in her last two appearances on the mound. She threw four strikeouts Wednesday and only walked one batter. She also has four hits in the last two games, including a single on Wednesday.

“Today our pitching was strong,” said Nogales manager Jimmy Watson. “Czarina’s been un-hittable. She’s been dominant and our defense has been there to back her up.”

That defense stepped up in the fourth inning when Payson couldn’t manage to get a run in with three ducks on the pond.

“There’s 13 kids on the team and 13 kids put their seeds in to get the win,” Jimmy Watson said.

Only one of those kids is a girl, though, and it’s Lorta.

“She threw good. You’ve got to give her credit,” Goodman said. “She deserved the win. She’s one of the better pitchers I’ve seen in the tournament. The kids respect that. They didn’t care that it was girl pitching or not. They know every time they get up to the plate they’ve got to battle, and we didn’t battle.”

“She’s dominant in a man’s sport,” added Jimmy Watson. “She’s doing her job.”

For Lorta, who has been playing baseball for about five years, it’s no big deal.

“Sometimes they don’t even know I’m a girl,” she said. “But they still give me good comments.

“My coaches really pushed me so I could throw strikes,” she added. “When I get down they put me back up.”

Getting back up is one thing Payson needs to do if they want to advance.

“Maybe we can regroup and come back, and play the next two games solid,” Goodman said. “We’ve got to hit the ball. I know that.”

Nogales played Southwest yesterday after press time. They are slated to play Ahwatukee today at 5:30 p.m. at Nogales National Little League Park. Parking and admission are free.