JACKSON LISLE SPRINGDALE HAR-BER
Jackson Lisle is an adaptable young man with a wide range of options. Lisle considered chemical engineering, finance and biochemistry as his college major. He settled on the pre-med major of food science. “I was bouncing between a lot of choices,” said Lisle, a left-handed pitcher for the Class 7A state champion Springdale HarBer Wildcats. “And food science involves a little bit of everything. It has a lot of chemistry and biology in it. After I graduate, there are a multitude of jobs open that I can choose between. It’s a very versatile degree.” Lisle will attend the University of Arkansas Honors College, which happens to be leader in the field of food science. “I didn’t apply anywhere else but I probably should have,” Lisle said. “When I was first considering colleges I thought about MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] or Yale. A lot of people don’t realize this but Arkansas is one of the top five schools in the country in food science because of what Tyson and Wal-Mart do for the area.”
Another plus for Lisle is that he enjoys attending sporting events.
“I’ll probably go to every baseball game possible,” Lisle said. “And I’ll go to a lot of football and basketball games too. For what I’m doing now, the U of A is the perfect choice for me.”
A two-year varsity letterman, Lisle made 11 appearances for the Wildcats, compiling a 0.50 earned run average in 14 innings. He did not pitch in the state tournament, but was ready to go to the mound if asked.
“Winning a state championship was awesome,” Lisle said. “I went down to the bullpen five or six times but I watched as much of the games as I could.
“It was so cool to watch my teammates come back. We may have been behind in the semifinals, but I knew we weren’t going to lose.”
Despite a substantial school schedule, Lisle said the experience was worth it.
“I was proud I was able to balance school, work and baseball,” Lisle said. “Obviously I did better in the classroom than I did in baseball, but being able to stick with everything really helped me be a well-rounded individual.”