NILES, OH -The last time he took the mound for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, the story was all Marty Popham, who established season highs in innings and strikeouts.

The ink was barely dry Wednesday when Popham, a former Union College hurler, fanned a career-high nine batters over a season-best seven hitless innings as Mahoning Valley cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Auburn Doubledays.

For Popham, each successive start is a return to his old ways. A standout at Union College in Kentucky, he was placed in the bullpen last year to limit his workload following the college season.

"I just got that presence on the mound again," said Popham, who was drafted by the Indians in the 20th round last year. "It's all coming back to me."

And the crowd at Eastwood Field got a first-hand glimpse of how dominant Popham can be. He cruised through 6 1/3 perfect frames before issuing a one-out walk to Eric Eiland. The 21-year-old right-hander dominated the Doubledays from the outset -- he struck out Markus Brisker and Eiland to open the game -- and lowered his ERA to 1.57 en route to his second straight win.

"It all starts with a good routine pregame, and for the past two outings I've had a good routine," said Popham, who has thrown 13 scoreless innings over that stretch. "Everything was just working for me."

The Louisville native got ahead of hitters, using his breaking ball and changeup to set up his fastball.

Although he was aware of the perfect game, Popham said he was more concerned with "getting in the work that needed to be done." Like most of the Indians' young arms, he's on a steadily growing pitch count and wanted to make good use of his 95-pitch limit.

When the dust settled, however, Popham needed an economical 88 throws to get through seven innings. Reliever Austin Adams kept the no-hitter intact until Chris Hopkins reached on an infield single with two outs in the ninth.

While Popham modestly credited his teammates for playing errorless ball behind him and building a six-run cushion, his performance is indicative of what the right-hander expects from himself.

"I'm getting to the point to where it's not about how good a hitter is, it's how focused you can stay during a game," Popham said. "You can't let things get in the way."

Judging from his last two starts, Popham's focus is exactly where it needs to be.

Story by Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. Photo courtesy of MVProduction Staff.