With no team goals left to chase this season, Hawaii senior Matt Cooper has his eyes on a rare pitching achievement as a Rainbow Warrior starter.

The UH senior is part of a starting staff that ranks 11th in the nation with a 2.33 ERA heading into its final road series of the season against UC Davis, beginning Friday at Dobbins Baseball Field in Davis, Calif.

Cooper (4-5, 1.68 ERA) has two starts left to put the final touches on a season that has elevated him to the point of hearing his name called in next month’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

A big reason for that is an increase in strikeouts, from 69 in 86 innings last year to 88 in 91 innings this season.

With 12 over his final two starts against UC Davis and UC Riverside, Cooper can become the first UH pitcher to have 100 in a season since Steven Wright struck out 123 in 2006.

"I think it’s cool and it’s been on my mind for probably two or three games now," Cooper said. "I know I need 12 over my final two starts and I’ll definitely be going for it."

It’s happened 18 times in school history but only twice since Mike Trapasso took over in 2002.

Derek Tatsuno holds the top two marks in program history, including an astounding 234 in 1979.

While Tatsuno won 20 games that season, Cooper enters Friday’s game against the Aggies with a losing record.

Despite quality starts in nine of his 13 outings, Cooper, who has thrown at least seven innings eight times, is 4-5 overall.

Hawaii has scored only nine runs in his six Big West starts.

"All we can do is continue to get the pitching we’ve gotten out of starters and try to score more runs," Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said. "We’ve got to score more runs than we’ve been scoring. It’s as simple as that."

Hawaii’s only two hitters batting over .300 are outfielders Kaeo Aliviado and Adam Hurley.

Hurley, who hit .204 last year, has a team-best mark at . 323 with seven doubles and a home run.

He’s hit safely in nine of his past 10 games and was responsible for more than half of Hawaii’s runs last weekend in three losses to Long Beach State.

"I think him and Kaeo may be the best story of the year for us and how they have consistently gone out and hit for us," Trapasso said. "They deserve a lot of credit and I’m really happy for Adam because even though he really struggled last year, he’s a guy who has hit .300 his entire career, made adjustments, stayed within himself and had success with it."

Only five of Hawaii’s nine starters are hitting over .227 and the team is batting just .237 in 18 Big West games.

Hawaii begins its series at UC Davis in last place in the Big West, two games behind the Aggies.

UC Davis is fifth in the conference with a .269 team batting average but is last in ERA at 4.60.

Hawaii hasn’t finished last in a conference since going 5-25 in the WAC in Trapasso’s first season as UH coach in 2002.