Nashville, Tenn. — Dansby Swanson thought about late friend Dai-Jon Parker after hitting the winning home run in the ninth inning for Vanderbilt.

Once the game ended, the Vanderbilt shortstop shared that on Twitter: "That one was for you Dai-Jon."

The former Vanderbilt basketball player drowned in a boating accident in an Indiana reservoir Thursday, and Parker was on Swanson's mind as he hit a two-run homer to beat Indiana 6-4 on Saturday night in NCAA regional play.

"I don't know if people know this, but I've known him since eighth grade and we played basketball together and with each other for a while," Swanson said. "And he's just an incredible guy. So positive. It's hard to sum up in words everything that's been going on lately."

Swanson's tweet had 1,210 favorites and 671 retweets by early Sunday afternoon.

Both Swanson and Parker went to high school in the Atlanta area. Parker played three seasons at Vanderbilt before transferring last summer to Indianapolis.

"It's terrible," Swanson said. "Definitely our prayers are going out to his family and everyone that's involved with the situation. I've been involved in both doses of people from home and everyone here, so it's been tough the past couple of days, honestly, but we definitely lost an incredible guy."

Swanson, expected to be among the top picks June 8 in the Major League Baseball draft, has hit 14 homers this season, including four in last week's Southeastern Conference Tournament. The junior is hitting .350 with 60 RBIs.

Vanderbilt athletic director David Williams said Sunday that he wasn't surprised that Swanson dedicated his homer to Parker.

"When you talk about it, you kind of tear up," Williams said. "This is a kid who will never be forgotten, and it seems like what Dansby did and what some of the others are doing sort of confirms and reaffirms it. It's sad that someone's life was cut short so young, but it's really very heart-warming to realize how many people (knew Dai-Jon.)"

Parker and another man were being pulled on an inner-tube by a pontoon boat when it hit a large wave, knocking Parker off. He was not wearing a life jacket.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Parker's mother pay for the funeral.