At some point, Hawaii had to win a Big West series opener with Matt Cooper on the hill.

The senior right-hander has simply been too good.

Cooper showed his dominant form once again on Friday, striking out seven in 7 2/3 innings, and Trevor Podratz delivered the clutch hit Hawaii was looking for as the Rainbow Warriors defeated UC Davis 2-1 at Dobbins Stadium in Davis, Calif.

Podratz’s pinch-hit triple with two outs in the top of the seventh inning scored Austin Wobrock with the tying run. Stephen Ventimilia followed with an infield single to short, scoring Podratz with the eventual winning run as Hawaii (20-28, 4-15 Big West) won for just the second time in its past 16 conference games.

"We just got enough with a little two-out rally, so thank goodness," Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said. "Coop was Coop. He had to settle in a little bit but made some adjustments as the game went on and was his normal self."

Ventimilia stole two bases and finished with three of Hawaii’s seven hits as the Rainbow Warriors scored two runs or fewer for the sixth time in Cooper’s seven Big West starts.

Cooper (5-5) made it stand, scattering seven hits as he pitched into the eighth inning for the fifth time in 14 starts.

His seven strikeouts give him 95 for the season, which is the most by a UH pitcher since Steven Wright’s 123 in 2006.

He also lowered his season ERA to 1.64, which ties him with Lenny Linsky in 2010 for the ninth-lowest ERA in a season among pitchers who threw at least 20 innings.

It’s also the lowest ERA by a starting pitcher in a season since Derek Tatsuno finished at 1.45 in 1978.

Hawaii had lost all seven one-run games in conference before Friday and improved to 5-12 overall.

Junior Scott Squier recorded two strikeouts with runners in scoring position to earn his first save of the year.

He replaced Cooper with a runner on second and struck out Steven Patterson after Seth Batty had taken third on a wild pitch.

The Aggies recorded consecutive two-out hits in the bottom of the ninth to put the tying run on second when Squier struck out Austin March to end it.

"I was really happy for Squier today because he came in and did a really nice job and got the big strikeout of Patterson, who had three hits already," Trapasso said. "He made it a little bit interesting there in the ninth but honestly made some good pitches and then got the strikeout."

Wobrock went 2-for-4 with a run scored and Adam Hurley had the other hit for UH.

Harry Stanwyck (3-7) threw 135 pitches in a complete-game effort for the Aggies (21-28, 5-14), who are a game up on UH for last place in the conference.

Stanwyck struck out three and walked one.

Senior Scott Kuzminsky (4-6, 3.12 ERA) will start Game 2 for the ‘Bows on Saturday at 10 a.m. Hawaii time.

Hawaii is 4-6 on the road in the Big West and 0-9 at home.