Bobby Andrews let a line drive go through him for a three-base error in the second inning, dropped a high fly in foul territory in the fourth and woefully misplayed another sinking liner in the seventh, leading to the double that gave Ole Miss a one-run lead Thursday night.

That’s how the freshman’s night in left field looked.

Here’s how it looked at the plate: 4-for-5 with three RBI, including a liner of Rebel pitcher Eric Callender’s calf that plated the final Tiger run in a 6-3 win at Plainsman Park.

“I didn’t have the best day in the outfield,” Andrews said. “I thought I might need to make up for that with my bat.”

Andrews started off the Tigers’ first with a bunt single, knocked in Creede Simpson to tie the game in the third, plated Simpson again to knot the score at 3-3 in the seventh, then drove in Justin Hargett in the eighth for the last Auburn (21-16, 8-8 SEC) run.

The only time Ole Miss (23-16, 8-8) retired Andrews, who entered the game with two RBI on the year, was a flyout to right in the fifth. On a 12-pitch at-bat in which he fouled off six pitches with two strikes.

The Tigers saw 4.16 pitches per plate appearance on the night.

“The guys kept their gameplan, and that is to work the count to try and get good pitches to hit,” head coach John Pawlowski said. “A lot of guys stepped up for us tonight.”

Ole Miss took a 2-0 lead in the first on a double by Matt Tracy off Auburn starter Derek Varnadore, who returned to the mound after sitting out his start last week with arm soreness.

Varnadore, who was on an 85-pitch limit on the night, settled down after that, going six innings and giving up two runs on three hits with five strikeouts and three walks.

It was his longest outing since March 20, when he gave up three runs on five hits in a no-decision against Arkansas.

“I didn’t expect my arm to come back that good,” Varnadore said. “That’s the best I’ve felt since Mississippi State (on March 27). I felt a whole lot better than I did the last two weeks.”

Dan Gamache got a run back for the Tigers with a solo shot in the second, and Andrews tied it in the third.

Ole Miss went back up on Andrews’ miscue in the seventh, but Andrews got the run back in the bottom of the inning.

Casey McElroy put Auburn up for good on a sacrifice fly that plated Hargett later in the seventh.

Then Kevin Patterson brought the fireworks a night early in the eighth.

The senior first baseman socked a 2-0 pitch well out to right field for his sixth home run of the year to give Auburn a 5-3 lead, with an “official” estimate placing the length of the shot at 516 feet.

Andrews’ final single gave the Tigers a 42-12 advantage in the final three innings of the past seven SEC games, six of them Auburn wins.

“We talk a lot about trying to win the last three innings,” Pawlowski said. “You look at the job our pitching did, they put us in a position to win that game.”

Ethan Wallen (4-3) picked up the win in relief of Varnadore, giving up a run on three hits over two innings.

After Wallen gave up a hit batsman and single to begin the ninth, Dillon Ortman slammed the door shut, retiring all three batters he faced — two on strikeouts — to pick up his third save of the year.

Gamache, Patterson and Simpson were all 2-for-4 for the Tigers, and Tracy and Matt Snyder each had two hits for Ole Miss.

With Alabama idle Thursday, the win pulls the Tigers even with the Rebels in the SEC West standings, half a game back of the Crimson Tide.

Opelika High grad Zach Blatt (2-2, 6.33) takes the mound against David Goforth (2-5, 4.37) in Game 2 tonight at 6 p.m.