It has been a long beginning of the season for the Clark Atlanta University Lady Panthers softball team.

After opening the season on Feb. 2 with a doubleheader loss to Talladega College and Point University on Feb. 6, the Lady Panthers have been idle after rain canceled a tournament at Auburn University-Montgomery.

But the Lady Panthers will be back on the field Friday, Feb. 23 when they visit Anderson University for a doubleheader.

CAU, led by head coach Lawanda Pearson, are looking to take the next step forward after last year's young team finished a strong third in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East Division with a 12-8 record, 19-26 overall.   CAU won five of their last seven regular season games before losing two of three in last season's SIAC Tournament.

"I'm really anxious," Pearson said.  "We're bringing back a lot of sophomores this year who really can play the game and have gotten a year of experience on this level of competition. So, I'm really expecting them to do well.  I'm really just anxious to see who's going to step up to the plate."

She pointed to four seniors – last season's leading hitter and 2018 preseason All-SIAC pick Sharnitra Woods, CAU's leader in on-base percentage Jaci Gray, and pitchers Jada Cofield and Shalonda Woods – as being key leaders for the Lady Panthers this season.

"We have four great seniors," Pearson said.  "They know it's their last year.  They are looking to go out with a bang."

They will lead a nucleus of young talent that Pearson believes is ready to take the next step after going through last season.

That young nucleus includes All-SIAC shortstop Tatianna Kelly, who hit .388 with ten home runs and a team-leading 52 hits last season, while Kayla Montague had 22 hits and 15 stolen bases in 2017.  2018 Preseason All-SIAC second baseman Chase Gray-Still hit .316 with 37 hits and three homers. Twins Cailla and Caitlyn Williams played in 39 and 32 games last year as freshmen, with Caitlyn getting 17 hits, eight runs batted in, while Cailla had 16 hits, two homers and 17 RBIs.  Khalayla Joseph had five hits and stole six bases last season.

Lakima Terrell also returns after hitting .294 with 30 hits last year, as does Kiani Turner, Daija Lewis, Laterria Jones and Tatyana Toussaint.

Pearson said a lot of the emphasis this season has been on coming up with big hits in clutch situations

"Defensively, we stand out great," she said. "Offensively, we seem to struggle.  Last year, we left a lot of people on base. And my big hitters weren't getting the job done. So, we kind of put our focus on hitting this year and being able to move runners in critical moments in the game. "

Pearson said her team will be ready to compete in a touch SIAC this season, particularly after they were on the cusp of winning some big games during the season and in the SIAC Tournament last year.

"I don't see anybody that we can shy away from or even dominate," she said. "But competition wise, I'm going for everybody."