Army's Alex Robinett was not keeping track of his prodigious number of strikeouts, and his teammates were not telling him in the dugout because they know to give him his space when he is pitching.

"I thought I was hovering around 14," Robinett said Monday. "When they announced 21, I was totally surprised."

Those 21 Ks against Air Force on Friday were the most in Division I since Stephen Strasburg, now with the Washington Nationals, fanned 23 for San Diego State against Utah in 2008. Robinett walked none in the three-hit, 8-0 victory that came two months after he pitched a no-hitter against Longwood.

"I've been in that type of groove for a few innings in a row but I wouldn't say a full, complete nine," Robinett said. "As the game went on you could tell their hitters were getting a little frustrated, more off-balance. I really hit the zone."

Robinett had at least two strikeouts in each inning, struck out the side three times and ended the game with five straight Ks.

The 6-foot, 190-pound right-hander was the star on a team that finished this season 21-26 and last in the Patriot League. He was 6-5 with a 2.01 ERA, a nation-leading eight complete games and 92 strikeouts against 16 walks in 80 2-3 innings.

Robinett was born in Saudi Arabia — his parents worked for an oil company — and he pitched in two Little League World Series before he moved to Bend, Oregon, when he was 14. Pac-12 schools tried to recruit him, but his father advised him to take the opportunity offered by Army. He'll graduate May 19 with a degree in business management.

He said he has no regrets, but he has always wondered what would have happened if he would have pitched in a major program.

"It's tough watching Vanderbilt and Oregon on TV," he said. "You want to play against those guys. That was always our goal, to get to a regional so we could play against some of those teams and see how we stack up. Unfortunately, we couldn't do that this year."

Robinett did pitch in a 2013 regional but had a short and rough outing in an elimination-game loss to UNC-Wilmington.

Robinett, whose fastball touches the low 90s, expects to be drafted next month. He could play rookie ball before he begins his five years of Army service.

Making it to the big leagues is difficult for players from the service academies. Only one West Point graduate, Walt French in the 1920s, is known to have made it. The Naval Academy two weeks ago had its first major-league call-up when pitcher Mitch Harris joined the St. Louis Cardinals.

"It's always good to hear stories like that," Robinett said.

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A look around the country:

POLL WATCH: LSU (40-8, 16-7 SEC) remains the consensus No. 1 team in the nation. The Tigers, who have won 17 of 20, took two of three at Mississippi State and are 11-2 on the road.

ILLINI KEEP ROLLING: Illinois (40-6-1), ranked as high as No. 3 this week, extended its school-record win streak to 21 games with an impressive road sweep against Ohio State.

COLONEL CLOUTS: Eastern Kentucky's Kyle Nowlin went deep three times Sunday in a loss to Jacksonville State to take the national home run lead with 17. The junior outfielder also hit three homers against Morehead State on March 28.

CAL A BEAR IN PAC 12: California, ranked as high as No. 9, continues to be the surprise of the Pac-12. The Bears (29-15, 15-9) scored four runs with two out in the eighth inning Sunday to beat then-No. 6 Arizona State 8-6 and deal the Sun Devils their first conference series loss of the season.

DAD WOULD BE PROUD: Iona's Mariano Rivera III, son of retired Yankees great Mariano Rivera, pitched a one-hit shutout in a seven-inning game against Central Connecticut State on Saturday. The younger Rivera retired 21 straight after giving up a leadoff double.