North Myrtle Beach, S.C. – The Lehman College softball team will commence its 2019 season on Thursday with a twin-bill against Castleton University during the North Myrtle Beach's Fastpitch Dreams Classic with the opener set for 10 am.
 
Fans can follow all the action online via live stats and live stream:
 


The Lightning, under new head coach Melissa Torres, are looking to improve from their 15-24 overall ledger from last season.  Lehman also finished the campaign with a strong 7-5 CUNYAC record and won two out of three postseason encounters to reach the conference finals.  The Lightning dropped a 4-1 decision to CSI for the 2018 CUNYAC title.
 
Among the Lehman returnees is pitcher/infielder Diamond Villegas who was second on the team in 2018 with .398 batting average with seven home runs, 27 RBI and had 10 victories on the mound while striking out 161 batters.  Infielder Caitlin Vernon is back as she was second on the squad with .321 hitting average with 17 RBI and 13 stolen bases, while outfielder Stephany Cruz batted .250 with 10 RBI and was second on the team in stolen bases with 20.
 
Meanwhile, the Castleton Spartans open this season after going 11-17 in 2018.