Pitt softball adds a pitcher in transfer Taylor Rahach

I don't typically get too far into the weeds on transfers for the Olympic sports, but Pitt added one that was sort of interesting in the context of what they have in their pitching rotation.

The Panthers added pitcher Taylor Rahach to the roster from Coastal Carolina. Rahach will be a junior and have two  years of eligibility left. As a sophomore last year, she was 13-9 with a 2.80 ERA, while striking out 119 batters (nearly one per inning).

Her addition will really add some quality depth to a rotation that may or may not need it. The team returns both of last year's starters, Kayla Harris and Brittany Knight. Both had some very strong games, but overall, each finished only one game over .500 and had ERAs slightly above 4.00. On top of that, the team also returns Sarah Dawson, who threw the program's first-ever perfect game as a freshman in 2016 before being relegated to mostly reliever duty last season. The move seemed odd at the start of the season but Dawson had the highest ERA of the three (4.27), so it seemed to justify coach Holly Aprile's move.

Pitt has both of their starters back and also Dawson who, presumably, will remain as a backup. But Rahach's addition really does two things. First, it gives the team another challenger for a starting rotation spot this year. I'm not sure if she'll beat out either of the other two starters but what I always say in the case of transfers like these where a starter is leaving somewhere is that they're rarely done without the expectation of starting somewhere else. It's hard to imagine her coming here to sit the bench.

Even if Rahach doesn't join the rotation this year, though, the team will lose Harris after this season since she's a senior. If nothing else, Pitt will need to replace her for 2019 and Rahach's addition gives them the chance to do that since she'll be here for that year.

Overall, it's a solid addition that works out for the team for this year and the next one.

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