Mark Clapp of Blue Hill is one of those valuable unassuming role players who goes out and does his job day in and day out for the ECAC Division III Baseball Tournament-bound Saint Joseph’s College Monks.

The sophomore second baseman is hitting .310 out of the two spot in the Monks’ order with 27 runs batted in. He has five doubles and two triples and has scored 31 runs.

“He is quiet consistency,” said Saint Joseph’s junior designated hitter Ben Muniz. “He’s always there. You can always rely on him to have quality at-bats and he always makes the plays [defensively].”

“He’s a pretty underrated player,” added Muniz.

Saint Joseph’s of Standish, 32-9, is the second seed for the eight-team, single-elimination ECAC tourney and plays No. 7 Babson College (Mass.), 19-18, in Friday’s 3:30 p.m. quarterfinal at Curry College (Mass.).

The semifinals are Saturday and the championship game is Sunday afternoon at Bridgewater State College (Mass.).

“Things have been going pretty well this year. I’ve having a lot of fun,” said Clapp, who has had to make the adjustment from shortstop to second base this season to make way for slick-fielding freshman shortstop Brian Schools.

“It took me a little bit to get used to turning double plays,” said Clapp. “I struggled at the beginning of the season. But I’ve got it to the point now where I don’t even think about it. I catch it and snap it over there.”

Clapp was a three-sport performer at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill and credited baseball coach Dan Kane playing an important role in his success.

“I loved playing for coach Kane. He’s a great guy. He’s intense. He always gets you fired up,” said Clapp, who initially chose Wheaton College (Mass.) over Saint Joseph’s.

“But I didn’t make the team down there [last season] so I called [Saint Joseph’s] coach [Will Sanborn] and he said we have a spot for you if you want to come,” said Clapp, who joined the Monks for the second semester.

Clapp was a backup third baseman and second baseman on their spring trip to Florida in 2004 but then became the starting shortstop. He hit a respectable .287 with eight doubles, two triples, 15 RBIs and 23 runs scored.

Last summer, he was chosen the Zone 1 American Legion Player of the Year when he hit .552 for Trenton with nine doubles, four triples, 18 RBIs and 36 runs.

“He has been great for us,” said Monks senior pitcher Greg Kimball. “He transferred in last year and made a statement.

“Even though he’s only a sophomore, he’s a leader out in the field,” he added.

Clapp is fully aware of his role hitting in the No. 2 slot and he enjoys it.

“We hit-and-run quite a bit and sac [sacrifice] bunt. We try to manufacture runs a lot. We try to get guys on for the big hitters,” said Clapp. “Mac [Derek McIntosh] and Charlie [Furbush] and the other guys behind me drive in a lot of runs. Andy [leadoff hitter Andy Exley] gets on base a lot and I’m kind of a spray hitter. We’ve got a good thing going here.”

“Mark makes good contact. He’s a quality hitter at the top of our order,” said Sanborn. “He’s a very quiet hard-working kid. And he’s real steady at second base. Hopefully, his move to second will give us a nice double play combination for three more years.”

Herbine to coach XC at UMF

Former University of Maine basketball captain and Bangor High School multi-sport standout Katie (Clark) Herbine has been hired as the women’s cross country coach at the University of Maine-Farmington.

Herbine, who spent the last two years as an attorney, inherits a program that has won six conference titles in the last seven years.

Herbine was a track and field performer at Bangor High before earning a basketball scholarship to attend UMaine. After graduation, she began running again and has competed in several road races, including the 2003 Chicago Marathon and the 2005 Disney Marathon.

Herbine, who lives in Starks with her husband Andy, graduated from UMaine in 2000 with a degree in history. She then earned a law degree from the New England School of Law in 2003.

Spillane NESCAC’s top rookie

Nick Spillane of Colby College in Waterville has been chosen the New England Small College Athletic Conference Baseball Rookie of the Year.

The outfielder from Darien, Conn., also earned a spot on the All-NESCAC second team.

Spillane ranked fourth in the league with a .418 batting average and also led the White Mules in hits (38), total bases (47), slugging percentage (.516), on-base percentage (.475) and stolen bases (7). He hit one home run and six doubles with 17 RBIs.

Colby’s Aitken earns honor

Deb Aitken, the outdoor women’s track and field coach at Colby College in Waterville, has been named the NESCAC Coach of the Year.

Aitken previously earned the award for cross country.

Colby, which finished fourth in the NESCAC championship meet, had 10 White Mules earn top-three finishes.

Colby women’s crew in NCAAs

The Colby College women’s crew squad is headed to the NCAA Division III Women’s Rowing Championships.

The White Mules will be among six teams competing in the meet May 27-29 at the California State University Aquatic Center in Sacramento.

Colby is making its third appearance in the championships in the four-year history of the event. The Mules won the national tile in 2003 after a runner-up finish in 2002.