As he stood there holding the ACC Championship Trophy while posing for pictures last Sunday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina, Clate Schmidt was still in shock about what had just happened.

A year after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and all the obstacles he and his teammates had been through with a coaching change, his chemotherapy and radiation treatments, his fight to get back on the baseball diamond and then the ups and downs of a regular season, Schmidt and the Clemson Tigers were ACC Champions.

“I really could not fathom what was going on,” Clemson’s senior pitcher said. “Just to think where we were from my freshman year and where I was literally a year ago. It’s such a blessing and I cannot think everybody enough for the support and the love they have shown me and my family to getting back to this point and now being able to produce for this school and to be able to bring a national seed and a host to this school is something that is so incredible and something I’m very blessed to be a part of.”

Schmidt has played a big part in why the Tigers (42-18) won their first ACC Championship in 10 years and earned the No. 7 national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Clemson will host its first regional in five years when it takes on Western Carolina at 7 p.m. on Friday in Game 2 of the Clemson Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

In his last four starts, Schmidt has produced a 3-1 record with a 1.43 earned run average, including back-to-back wins over Notre Dame and Louisville in which he pitched deep into the ninth inning. He gave up just one run in 8 1/3 innings of work against the Irish in the final week of the regular season, while he gave up just two runs to the Cardinals in 8 2/3 innings in the second game of the ACC Tournament. He had a combined 12 strikeouts to just one walk in the two games.

“Clate has done a really good job, and what I have seen from him lately, and from a lot of guys on the staff, is that they are getting stronger,” Clemson pitching coach Andrew See said. “That tells me they are doing what they need to do in the weight room, and the throwing program is coming through.

“It means we have managed them well. Coach (Monte) Lee has done a really good job getting those guys out of ballgames early in the season so that we are fresh now. Those guys were able to give us those quality innings at Georgia Southern, at Notre Dame and moving into the tournament.”

Schmidt started the year with a 5-0 record in his first seven appearances. Though he was not blowing anyone away, he was getting the job done and the Tigers were benefiting as they started the season 21-7.

But it was about that time, however, when Schmidt started to show some issues and the opponents were catching up to him. He struggled as he gave up 10 hits and four earned runs in a loss at Duke and then the following week he lasted just 2 1/3 innings at Louisville as he gave up five earned runs on 10 hits.

“I had to go back to my roots as a pitcher,” Schmidt said.

After the loss to Louisville on April 15, Schmidt went to See and asked for some help. He knew what he needed to do, but he wanted to make sure he was doing it the right way.

“It was more Clate than me to be honest with you,” See said. “I think Clate said his mechanics felt a little bit off. We just did a couple of things in the bullpen to see what would make him more comfortable. I kept telling him to stay more straight and kind of stay linear. He wanted to add some more rotational dynamic movement to his delivery.

“I said, ‘Let’s try it and see how you feel and see what the pitches look like and the execution.’ He did a couple of pitches and went a little bit overboard so we kind of dialed it back and I think he found what was comfortable, just a little more hip load and being a little bit more explosive with the lower half.”

The results did not show right at first. He was still a little up and down as he gave up just three runs on eight hits in seven innings or work against Georgia Tech on April 24 and three earned runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings against Florida State on May 1.

“I credit him because we talk about knowing yourself and to figure out what is working mechanically,” See said. “I don’t think it was the results he got from Louisville. I think it was more of a feel thing. He was able to really work it out in the bullpen. He felt good in the next start and we kind rode that wave and then did the same thing in the next bullpen and then he became more aggressive with it and I think that has really helped him.”

Schmidt was still trying to work things out when he struggled in relief against Furman on May 4, but a week later against the College of Charleston, it all came together. The senior allowed just one earned run on six hits in 6 1/3 innings of work. He struck out six batters and walked just one.

The very next week, while being on a short pitch count, he pitched two scoreless innings and recorded four strikeouts in a start against Charleston Southern. Three days later, he started at Notre Dame and the rest has been history.

“It has been great being able to produce for this team as I should have been doing for the entire year,” Schmidt said. “The thing that has been really special to me, and even though those rough patches occurred, I still had my teammates there pushing me and knowing I was going to get on the other side.

“The competitive person that I am, and in order for me to help benefit this team, I needed to step it up and get back to the level that I knew I could get to and that was to be able to win games against tough opponents and when my number was called, I had to be able to produce. I have been very fortunate these past couple of weeks to get back to that and feel extremely comfortable out there on the mound.”