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Senior Erik Swenson hasn’t give up a hit since the season opener.

And the rest of defending Class A champion Scarborough High’s pitching staff has been nearly as stingy.

Swenson, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-hander who has signed to play at the University of Maine, needed only 75 pitches Saturday to retire 21 straight batters in his 3-0 perfect game victory against Gorham and its ace, Vanderbilt commit Wyatt Nadeau.

“The bottom of the fifth inning was when it kind of dawned on me what was happening,” Swenson said. “I really just tried to block it out. I didn’t want to change anything I was doing. Didn’t want to get complacent on the mound and do anything I wouldn’t normally. I definitely knew something was happening.”

When senior third baseman Matthew Fallona charged a grounder and threw to first for the final out, Swenson crouched down, put his glove over his face.

“It was kind of like shock and awe. I couldn’t believe I did it and then my teammates came out and swarmed me. It was a really cool feeling to be part of that,” Swenson said.

Fallona was the first to arrive to the group celebration.

“I definitely felt the pressure for Swenson,” Fallona said. “We definitely pride ourselves on our pitching and defense. Obviously our pitching is one of a kind but the reps we take in practice on defense doesn’t go under the radar and for sure helps our pitchers out.”

Swenson’s nine-strikeout perfecto followed his combined perfect game with Ryan Shugars against Cheverus, May 13, and a 1-0 no-hitter against Falmouth on May 5.

Swenson has not allowed a hit over his last 18 innings. Only Sanford has dinged Swenson, getting three total, and scoring one run in the fifth inning of Scarborough’s season-opening 13-1 five-inning win. In 23 total innings he’s allowed one run, three hits and walked three batters while striking out 36. His ERA is 0.30 with a WHIP of .260.

Scarborough’s other pitchers have been equally effective. The Red Storm have allowed five runs in eight games and are riding five straight shutouts.

Shugars, a junior, who is Scarborough’s No. 2 starter and first baseman, has 19 strikeouts in nine scoreless innings and finished off the combined perfect game against Cheverus.

“A perfect game is one of the best things you can do as a team, as a whole. It’s definitely a team effort,” Shugars said. “Pitching, it relies a lot on your team to back you up at the plate and on the field and I have a really good team around me when I’m on the mound.”

Junior Nate Masters got his second start last week against Windham and pitched a five-inning one-hitter without a walk in a 10-0 win. He’s allowed four hits, two walks and one earned run in 12 innings. Last week, when Scarborough played three days straight, sophomore Cam Dean (5 innings, three hits) and freshman Liam Vines (two perfect innings) combined to shut out Portland, 8-0.

That Swenson has been effective is not a surprise. He’s pitched at the varsity level since his freshman season. As a junior he was the SMAA pitcher of the year and earned Varsity Maine all-state honors going 7-0 with a 0.98 ERA and a .906 WHIP with a 5-0 shutout of Falmouth in the regional final.

But this year has been at another level.

“It feels different. Definitely in a good way,” Swenson said. “I’m not trying to do anything differently but it’s probably easier to do what my coaches have been telling me to do now that I’ve been here four years. Which is just throw strikes and make sure I’m right in that zone and not walking anybody.”

Swenson has added about 35 pounds of strength since last season and a slider to his primarily fastball-curveball repertoire. It has perhaps helped boost his fastball velocity a click or two to the 87, 88 mph range. More importantly, he said, it’s made it easier to consistently repeat a clean, powerful motion deeper into games.

“He’s evolved as he’s gotten a little bit older from where he was as a freshman and sophomore in terms of trying to be a little too perfect and now he’s just attacking hitters,” said Scarborough coach Wes Ridlon. “To me, that’s the big difference: attacking the strike zone. Even last year he’d pick at times and try to be too perfect. He’s learning your defense is going to help you win those games.”