Sooners battle, defeat Northrop Grumman Published July 17, 2009 By John E. Banks Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The Sooners added a little extra warmth to the air July 9 as their bats heated up on the softball diamond en route to a doubleheader sweep of Northrup Grumman, 27-17 and 17-7. The Sooners scored 12 runs in the top of the first inning. The hit parade was led by left fielder Shawn Farber and Jeramy Thigpen, who hit two- and three-run home runs, respectively. The Northrop Grumman team wasn't going to be outdone. They scored 17 runs in their half of the first, with each batter getting at least a hit and run batted in during the inning. Second baseman and manager Tom Comer led the way with two doubles and six RBIs as Northrop Grumman held a 17-12 lead. The hot hitting of the Sooners came alive again in the third inning as 15 runs were scored. The hitting attack was led by shortstop Nick Thigpen and right fielder Tyler Carroll, who combined for three home runs and eight RBIs during the inning. In the second game, the Sooners got off and running by playing small ball. They scored three, four and five runs through the first three inning of play giving them a 12-2 advantage. Northrop Grumman tried to rebound with some timely hitting by shortstop Kevin Reiff and first baseman Josh Walker. The duo combined for four hits and five RBIs to close the gap to 12-7. However, the Sooners plated five more runs in the fourth inning to close out the scoring and win the game 17-7. "I was very pleased with our performance," said Comer. "We just did not score enough runs and our defense needs improvement." The Sooners' win improves their record to 9-1, while the loss drops Northrop Grumman to 8-2.