Completed Event: Baseball versus Murray State on June 9, 2025 , Loss , 4, to, 5
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Final
Baseball
4
vs Murray State
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Photo by: Duke Athletics
Duke Baseball Player Profile: Rudy Maxwell
4/10/2020 12:00:00 PM | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. – Following a solid freshman campaign, sophomore Rudy Maxwell returned to Durham looking to build in year two as a mainstay in the lineup for the Duke baseball team.
Maxwell made the transition to outfield in his second year after splitting time between catcher and designated hitter across his freshman season. The Brentwood, Tenn., native tied for second on the team in triples in 2019, while adding nine doubles and four home runs to his totals—good for a slugging percentage of .439.
"Rudy has been a versatile player since he's got here," said head coach Chris Pollard. "He's been a guy that has hit in a lot of different spots in our lineup. He's also been a valuable piece of the puzzle behind the plate for us before this year making the transition to learning how to play in the outfield. He has a lot of game experience in his first two years in the program and has hit in some really big spots for us, coming up with some big at-bats in the regional and super regional last year."
Maxwell had a knack for the big moment in 2019, as all of his home runs came during clutch situations. His first long ball of the season came during just the second weekend of the campaign in the series opener with Northwestern. Maxwell lined a solo shot to left field in his first at-bat of the game, marking his first career home run. He followed up his roundtripper with a game-winning double in his final at-bat of the contest to help the Blue Devils to a 5-4 walk-off win against the Wildcats.
Two weeks later, Maxwell connected on his second home run of this season, this time coming in grand fashion on the first weekend of ACC play in Charlottesville. In the series finale, Maxwell registered his first career grand slam to help the Blue Devils to an 8-6 series-clinching victory over Virginia, helping Duke to its first series win in Charlottesville since 1968.
"It was pretty cool to get my first grand slam on the first ACC weekend," said Maxwell. "The pitcher (Andrew Abbott) had gotten me earlier in the game on that same pitch, so it was nice to get that pitch again. It didn't seem timely in the moment, but we ended up winning that game by two runs, so it was pretty nice to have that."
Maxwell's next two home runs on the season came across the 2019 NCAA Tournament, as he was one of two Blue Devils to record multiple home runs in the postseason. The freshman slugger delivered his second grand slam of the campaign in the opening game of the NCAA Morgantown Regional. In a pinch-hit attempt with the bases loaded, he launched a ball to deep left field to clear the bases and help propel Duke to an 8-5 victory over second-seeded Texas A&M.
"It was pretty cool to be able to go to a regional as a freshman and then for me to have a moment like that was wild," Maxwell added.
The final home run of Maxwell's freshman season came in his hometown in the NCAA Super Regionals against the No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt. In the final contest of the three-game set, he lifted a solo shot to left field for his fourth long ball of the season—coming in front of his hometown fans.
"I grew up playing with the guy (Mason Hickman) that was on the mound, so I knew him really well," Maxwell noted. "Being able to do that in my hometown, I'll never forget that. It was probably the most memorable part of my baseball career last year.
"As a person, he's distinguished himself as a leader," Pollard added. For two years in a row, he's served on the leadership council. He's a guy that his teammates really gravitate towards. He's been a great role model. He's made a tremendous effort to get involved in the Durham and Duke communities and give back. He's a guy who's been a success story in every area as a student-athlete."
Outside of the baseball diamond, Maxwell has several hobbies including hunting, being outdoors and spending time with his family and dogs. He loves to cook, with his favorite meal to prepare being lamb burgers with pretzel buns, brussels sprouts and sweet potato fries.
"It's nice to not only have the identity of a baseball player," said Maxwell when discussing his off-the-field activities. "Baseball is going to end one day, so I have to have things that are going to keep me sane and keep me happy. I love hunting and being outdoors, and I also love woodworking. I got into that last year. It's nice to have other things that keep you occupied and happy."
For more information on Duke baseball, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeBaseball". You can also find all-access coverage of all Duke athletic programs on SnapChat by searching for "dukeathletics".
#GoDuke
Maxwell made the transition to outfield in his second year after splitting time between catcher and designated hitter across his freshman season. The Brentwood, Tenn., native tied for second on the team in triples in 2019, while adding nine doubles and four home runs to his totals—good for a slugging percentage of .439.
"Rudy has been a versatile player since he's got here," said head coach Chris Pollard. "He's been a guy that has hit in a lot of different spots in our lineup. He's also been a valuable piece of the puzzle behind the plate for us before this year making the transition to learning how to play in the outfield. He has a lot of game experience in his first two years in the program and has hit in some really big spots for us, coming up with some big at-bats in the regional and super regional last year."
Maxwell had a knack for the big moment in 2019, as all of his home runs came during clutch situations. His first long ball of the season came during just the second weekend of the campaign in the series opener with Northwestern. Maxwell lined a solo shot to left field in his first at-bat of the game, marking his first career home run. He followed up his roundtripper with a game-winning double in his final at-bat of the contest to help the Blue Devils to a 5-4 walk-off win against the Wildcats.
WALK IT OFF ??@RudyMaxwell comes up clutch in the 10th with the game-winning double to right to score @E_Nicks23! #ThatsABlueDevilWWWWWINNER ??#BlueCollar | #GoDuke ?????? pic.twitter.com/cmkuk7tglK
— Duke Baseball (@DukeBASE) February 24, 2019
Two weeks later, Maxwell connected on his second home run of this season, this time coming in grand fashion on the first weekend of ACC play in Charlottesville. In the series finale, Maxwell registered his first career grand slam to help the Blue Devils to an 8-6 series-clinching victory over Virginia, helping Duke to its first series win in Charlottesville since 1968.
T7 | BLAST OFF! ?? @RudyMaxwell leaves the yard for his first career grand slam! ??
— Duke Baseball (@DukeBASE) March 10, 2019
???? 8, UVA 1 pic.twitter.com/SLrOOBNqsL
"It was pretty cool to get my first grand slam on the first ACC weekend," said Maxwell. "The pitcher (Andrew Abbott) had gotten me earlier in the game on that same pitch, so it was nice to get that pitch again. It didn't seem timely in the moment, but we ended up winning that game by two runs, so it was pretty nice to have that."
Maxwell's next two home runs on the season came across the 2019 NCAA Tournament, as he was one of two Blue Devils to record multiple home runs in the postseason. The freshman slugger delivered his second grand slam of the campaign in the opening game of the NCAA Morgantown Regional. In a pinch-hit attempt with the bases loaded, he launched a ball to deep left field to clear the bases and help propel Duke to an 8-5 victory over second-seeded Texas A&M.
Homers deserve hardhats ?????????
— Duke Baseball (@DukeBASE) May 31, 2019
RUDY ?? @RudyMaxwell #BlueCollar | #GoDuke ?????? pic.twitter.com/vUcwDxTQbb
"It was pretty cool to be able to go to a regional as a freshman and then for me to have a moment like that was wild," Maxwell added.
The final home run of Maxwell's freshman season came in his hometown in the NCAA Super Regionals against the No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt. In the final contest of the three-game set, he lifted a solo shot to left field for his fourth long ball of the season—coming in front of his hometown fans.
"I grew up playing with the guy (Mason Hickman) that was on the mound, so I knew him really well," Maxwell noted. "Being able to do that in my hometown, I'll never forget that. It was probably the most memorable part of my baseball career last year.
Rudy Maxwell with the BLAST to get Duke on the board! #RoadToOmaha | @DukeBASE pic.twitter.com/NHRLySLszy
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 9, 2019
"As a person, he's distinguished himself as a leader," Pollard added. For two years in a row, he's served on the leadership council. He's a guy that his teammates really gravitate towards. He's been a great role model. He's made a tremendous effort to get involved in the Durham and Duke communities and give back. He's a guy who's been a success story in every area as a student-athlete."
Outside of the baseball diamond, Maxwell has several hobbies including hunting, being outdoors and spending time with his family and dogs. He loves to cook, with his favorite meal to prepare being lamb burgers with pretzel buns, brussels sprouts and sweet potato fries.
"It's nice to not only have the identity of a baseball player," said Maxwell when discussing his off-the-field activities. "Baseball is going to end one day, so I have to have things that are going to keep me sane and keep me happy. I love hunting and being outdoors, and I also love woodworking. I got into that last year. It's nice to have other things that keep you occupied and happy."
For more information on Duke baseball, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeBaseball". You can also find all-access coverage of all Duke athletic programs on SnapChat by searching for "dukeathletics".
#GoDuke
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