Middle Tennessee shortstop Matt Wolfe is no stranger to Charles Hawkins Field. In fact, the redshirt sophomore used to walk on West End and through those gates every day.

Coming out of high school, Wolfe was the No. 379 player nationally before signing with the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Ohio native spent two years with the VandyBoys, where he did not see the field, leading to him entering the transfer portal and taking his talent to MTSU. The Blue Raiders play the 'Dores annually, meaning there would be a reunion for Wolfe at some point.

That day came on Tuesday as the middle infielder walked onto Hawkins Field for the first time in nearly a year, only through the opposing team's entrance.

"I'm not going to lie, it was weird [returning to Hawkins Field] just because you spend so much time here, I spent two years at Vanderbilt. It was weird coming in the other side to see some of my best friends from the last few years," Wolfe says. "I want to say I treated it like any other game, but there was a little bit of feeling there. You're not sad, you're not overly happy, but it's good to be back, and it's good to win. Definitely a bit of a feeling there, but it was special, that's what it was."

As always, the shortstop made his usual start between second and third base. Not only did he play, but he was instrumental in the Blue Raiders' win over the No. 9 Commodores. Wolfe started his day with a leadoff walk in the second, and later came around to score, putting Middle Tennessee up 2-0.

He came back up in the top of the fourth inning with what was nearly a home run but dropped in front of the left-center field wall and bounced over for a ground-rule double. Wolfe also came around to score, this time with an epic swim move at the plate that even made MTSU head coach Jerry Meyers smile on the broadcast.

The six-hole hitter finished his day going 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a double, a walk, and good defense at shortstop.

That victory over the No. 9 ‘Dores was MTSU’s third-ranked win of the season, the first against a top 10 team since 2016, which also came against Vanderbilt. While doing what the Blue Raiders did can be a spark, potentially a season-changing event, Middle still has to capitalize on the momentum they built.

“We need to trust what we can do. I think you look back on a lot of losses we had, it just seemed like we didn’t feel we could win some of those big games,” Wolfe said. “We come out here and do what we can do; everyone saw what we’re capable of. We must continue trusting and believing in ourselves because we can beat anyone.”

The Blue Raiders will get another shot to prove what they’re capable of this weekend as they face New Mexico State in a three-game set. First pitch on Friday night is scheduled for 7 p.m.