From Hawai'i to Arizona to Alaska, baseball has opened doors for Jeeter Ishida.

After helping Punahou School win four state titles during his decorated prep career, Ishida took his talents to one of the nation's most storied collegiate programs at Arizona State.

Ishida, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound freshman right-hander, recorded a 3.52 earned run average in seven appearances with no record. He gave up five runs (three earned), on 10 hits with seven strikeouts and seven walks in 7 2/3 innings.

"It was a great learning year for me. I picked up a lot just watching from the dugout, sitting next to coach (Pat) Murphy," Ishida said of ASU's head coach of 15 years. "It's always difficult when you're not playing, but I was in a similar situation as a freshman at Punahou and I learned a lot from coach Eric Kadooka that year. In both instances, I just wanted to absorb as much information as I could."

Despite the limited playing time, Ishida cherished the opportunity to close out the year at the College World Series.

"Even though I didn't get to play in any games there, the chance to go to Omaha (Neb.) is something you dream about as a small kid," Ishida said. "Our team arrived there around 1 or 2 (o'clock) in the morning, but the whole hotel staff is outside and there to greet you. They make you feel like you're in the big leagues."

Arizona State went 2-2 in the CWS, with both losses coming to Texas. The Sun Devils ended their season with a 51-14 record. ASU went 21-6 in the Pac-10 and won its third consecutive league title.

"It's exactly what you think it is: a first-class program," Ishida said. "There are so many people that support the program and are behind us. It's just a special place and it's an honor to be a part of something like that."

Ishida, who throws five pitches (fastball, curveball, change-up, split-finger fastball and slider), didn't have much time to relax after the season ended on June 19.

"Once we lost that last game, we took off the next day, got back to Arizona, where I had a hundred things to do and then headed right up to Alaska two days later," said Ishida, who is playing for the Alaska Goldpanners of the Alaska Baseball League.

"It's a great collegiate league, really competitive with guys from a lot of top programs," Ishida said. "We play every day — I think we have a few days off — but we play about 50 games in our schedule and they do a good job of getting everyone innings."

In three appearances for the Goldpanners, Ishida has notched a 3.27 ERA with seven strikeouts against three walks, while holding opponents to a .214 batting average.

The league wraps up Aug. 3 with the ABL Showcase.

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