This time last year, the Clark Atlanta University Lady Panthers softball team were on the field geared up for the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Crossover tournament in Alabama where they were taking on Spring Hill.

But then news came down from the conference office and Athletic department officials that everyone was returning home immediately after the game as Covid-19 concerns shut down the Crossover and the season.

"The whole experience of being told that the tournament and likely the season, was going to end, and just facing the abrupt ending, was just so sad," said longtime Lady Panthers head coach Lawanda Pearson.

Now, 362 days later, the Lady Panthers are returning to competition today when they host Talladega College in a doubleheader at Lady Panther Field that begins at 2 p.m.  After being the last CAU athletic team to compete before Covid shut things down, they will now be the first to return to competition.  Throwing out the first pitch today will be Clark Atlanta University President Dr. George T. French Jr.

(Only the teams, officials and CAU athletic department personnel will be allowed at the games Wednesday due to Covid-19 protocols)

"Almost a year to the day, we'll be the first team to start, which is exciting," said Pearson, who is in her 17^th season.  "I know the young ladies are excited."

The SIAC conference schedule was canceled for this Spring with teams allowed to schedule a small number of games on their own this season. The Lady Panthers will only have six opponents this season and play doubleheaders against each of them. The full schedule is available at https://clarkatlantasports.com/sports/softball/schedule.

One reason Pearson is looking forward to seeing her squad on the field is that the Lady Panthers bring a good mix of newcomers and experience into the abbreviated season. The Lady Panthers return stalwart leader Tatianna Kelly, one of the better hitters in the SIAC, who plays multiple infield spots and catcher.

Pearson also points to six newcomers including Sarah Colbert, a pitcher from Riverside, California, ("She's going to add some zest to Skylar Smith, who is our leading pitcher," Pearson said), and outfielder Paityn White.

"And we have a junior Tatianna Kelly – her name is Johannas Bentley," Pearson said.  "When you see her, you're going to think she's Tatianna.  Same build, same strength, and when she hits the ball, you feel it.  She's a long ball hitter and she's a true first baseman, something we haven't had in a long time. We are expecting great things out of her."

They will take on a Talladega team that has played four games this season, dropping doubleheaders to Stillman College on Feb. 4 and Feb. 7.  They were outscored 38- 10 in those four losses. The Tornadoes haven't played since then because of rainouts and a slew of cancellations and postponements.  

The two teams haven't met since 2018 when CAU dropped three of four games to the Tornadoes.

Pearson is just ready for her team to hit the field and see what the Lady Panthers have in store this year.

"Even for me as a coach, to have what happened last year and then to just have a chance to come back and get things started and running again, that's the excitement for me," she said. 
"And we get to see that we have a really good team that's going to be very competitive, and we get this year to really get back into the competition mode and everything going forward."