MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — With a headfirst slide to beat the throw, Florida International's Garrett Wittels has kept his hitting streak alive.

Wittels now has hits in 53 straight games, five away from Robin Ventura's NCAA Division I record, after getting an infield single in the eighth inning against Florida Atlantic on Saturday in the Sun Belt Conference tournament.

Wittels hit a comebacker to FAU's Taylor Everist, then dived into the first-base bag to beat the throw.

FIU needed a win to remain in the tournament. The Sun Belt champion gets an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament, and the Golden Panthers are hopeful of, at the very least, securing an at-large bid.