As much as Emily Stockalper enjoys softball, playing the game created a constant conflict during her four years at Springdale Har-Ber.
"Softball is spring sport but all the big final [exams] are also in the spring," Stockalper said. "I'm happy that I was able to balance both sports and academics, but I always seemed to be stressing out about something. Balancing the two took a lot of effort."
At a glance
EMILY STOCKALPER
SCHOOL Springdale Har-Ber
GPA 4.1579
SPORT Softball
COLLEGE Hendrix
MAJOR Undecided
NOTEWORTHY Born on June 10, 1997 ... daughter of Ben and Becky Stockalper ... member of the National Honor Society ... Selected to participate in the Junior Leadership program. ... Received the Hendrix Academic Scholarship and the Odyssey Distinction Award. ... A three-time all-state and all-conference selection ... Was the Most Outstanding Player of the West Team at the 2015 AHSCA All-Star Game.
Female All-Academic team
STUDENT; ATHLETE; SCHOOL
Emily Stockalper Har-Ber GPA 4.16 COLLEGE Hendrix
Clara Somerville Ozark GPA 4.51 COLLEGE Arkansas
Akeia Joyner Maumelle GPA 4.17 COLLEGE UALR
Taylor Bauer Booneville GPA 3.75 COLLEGE Arkansas Tech
Alex Otwell Pulaski Academy GPA 4.51 COLLEGE Arkansas
Alexus Lawellin SS Batesville GPA 4.21 COLLEGE Harding
Stockalper excelled in the classroom and on the field.
She posted a 4.1579 grade-point average and was ranked at the top of her graduating class of 565 in the classroom. On the field, she compiled a career batting average of .368 and a 2.56 ERA in the circle.
For all of this, Stockalper is the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Female Academic/Athlete of the Year.
"What stress she had, she handled it well," Har-Ber Coach Lynn Lawson said. "She knew her teammates and the coaching staff were counting on her. We had only three returning starters back from her junior year, and we had a lot of young kids that fed off of her and the experience she provided."
Stockalper graduated from Har-Ber with the highest honors, after completing six or more Advanced Placement courses with a 3.5 cumulative GPA.
Her softball numbers were also impressive -- 99 of 269 at the plate with 24 doubles, 5 triples and 8 homes. In the circle, Stockalper struck out 385 and walked 145 in 455 1/3 innings.
"The most impressive thing about Emily was that she a strong desire to win and compete," Lawson said. "She has been in the circle for us the last four years. She had to grow into the position, but she was very driven from the get-go."
Stockalper will attend Hendrix College and play for the Lady Warriors' softball team.
"Continuing to play softball was very important to me, but I needed to find a school that was strong academically," Stockalper said. "Being able to play softball for them just made it better."
Lawson said Stockalper became a pitcher out of necessity when her summer softball team needed one, but she played every position, except catcher, when not pitching.
That versatility carried over to her classes.
She is a natural at math, but Stockalper said her favorite class during her senior year was one on language and composition taught by English teacher Katy Moore.
"This sounds weird," Stockalper said. "With the way my mind works, a math class probably should have been my favorite, but the way she taught the class really made us think. She let us figure things out. Even when she wanted to tell us how something should be interpreted, she allowed us to think for ourselves."
Stockalper has not settled on a major in college, but she said she will definitely enter the business field once she leaves college. Her mother is an accountant. Her father and brother are both into sales.
"My entire family is involved with some kind of business," she said. "Business is in my blood and I have plenty of mentors around me."
"I think she'll do whatever she wants," Lawson said. "She's a very intelligent young lady."
Sports on 07/26/2015