San Diego State right-hander Stephen Strasburg, the possible No. 1 overall draft pick next month, threw a no-hitter in a 5-0 victory over Air Force on Friday night.
Strasburg (11-0) struck out 17 and walked two in front of a school-record crowd of 3,337 in what was likely his final home appearance. The 6-foot-5 junior from San Diego, whose fastball was clocked at 102 mph earlier this season, has struck out 11 or more in 11 of his 12 starts for San Diego State (32-19, 11-8 Mountain West Conference).
It was the second no-hitter thrown against Air Force (14-32, 3-13) this season.
"There's a few pitches that I got away with that they fouled back that were kind of up and in the zone," Strasburg said in an interview posted on the school's Web site. "When it came crunch time and I needed a punchout or I needed to get a groundball, I was able to do that."
Strasburg is considered the favorite to be selected by the Washington Nationals, who hold the first pick in the baseball draft on June 9. Scheduled to receive the USA Baseball player of the year award Saturday, Strasburg lowered his ERA to 1.24 with 164 strikeouts in 87 1-3 innings.
He retired the first nine hitters he faced Friday, seven by strikeouts, before walking Nathan Carter to start the fourth inning. The Falcons' only other baserunner came on K.J. Randhawa's leadoff walk in the sixth.
Strasburg retired his final 12 batters, including striking out the side in the ninth.
SportsWrap
The top sports headlines of the day
Mitch Blackburn drove in two runs against Casey Allen (1-3), who allowed five runs -- four earned -- in eight innings for Air Force.
