ALLENTOWN — Rains washed out the Colonial League softball semifinal games Tuesday, and Northwestern athletic director Jason Zimmerman — who also serves on the league’s softball committee — didn’t want to see a repeat on Wednesday.

A call to the Cedar Crest College athletic department solved the problem, and the league was able to hold both semifinal games on the Falcons’ turf field.

The action went off without a hitch, even as a light mist fell for most of the day. Players seemed to adjust well to the unfamiliar surface, and both contests were decided by 1-0 scores.

Palisades and Northwestern emerged as winners to advance to Thursday’s championship game.

“It [the turf] does change the game,” Northwestern coach Kate Farber said. “I played at places like Pates Park, where it’s grass and dirt, and I prefer that. It’s nothing against Cedar Crest or any place that has a turf field, because this is a beautiful facility. I just spent so much time on grass fields that it’s what I prefer.”

Northwestern rode the arm of ace Emma Freeman, who tossed a complete-game shutout and scattered four hits to keep Notre Dame-Green Pond off the scoreboard. Freeman, who struck out 13 in a quarterfinal win over Bangor, fanned nine more in Wednesday’s win.

The Tigers had scrimmaged North Schuylkill on turf earlier in the season, but Farber noted that experience was limited — and the conditions were different.

“That game was a couple of months ago and the field was dry,” Farber said. “This was a whole different situation.”

Farber warned her players the ball would skip quicker on the wet turf, and advised them to start their slides earlier.

Leadoff hitter Rylee McGinley demonstrated how quickly turf can change a play when she overslid third base on a stolen-base attempt.

“I slid a little earlier, but I just kept going and wasn’t able to grab the bag as I slid past it,” McGinley said. “I just couldn’t get back to the bag then, and the third baseman stayed with the play and got me out.”

Freeman escaped a jam in the second inning when an error, a single and a walk loaded the bases with one out. The junior struck out the next batter, then got leadoff hitter Hannah Lilly to fly out to right, where Ella Bressi made the catch.

Northwestern manufactured its lone run in the bottom of the second. Shelby Mitman opened with a double to right-center, but was later called out for interference on a ground ball by Ainsley Behler. The Tigers responded with a hit from Sam Boyer, and one out later, Bressi worked a walk to load the bases with two outs.

McGinley showed patience at the plate, drawing a walk to force in Behler for the game’s only run.

“It’s kind of hard to stay disciplined in a situation like that, especially when you know it’s going to be a close game,” McGinley said. “You want to be up there swinging and try to make something happen, but you have to just stay calm and take the walk if you don’t get anything to hit.”

McGinley finished 1-for-2 with a single, two walks and an RBI.

Freeman closed the game by retiring seven of the final eight batters.

Two 1-0 games in the same round is rare, but not surprising at this stage, Farber said.

“We’re in the playoffs now, and you have good teams and good pitchers facing each other,” she said. “There aren’t any breaks in the schedule. You’re facing the best teams with some of the best players, and you have to be ready for it — especially the deeper you go into the postseason.”

PIRATES OF THE PALISADES ... With Palisades defeating Pen Argyl in the other semifinal, Thursday’s final will be a rematch of last year’s Colonial League title game. Northwestern won that contest 5-4, and also defeated Palisades 6-2 during the regular season. This marks Northwestern’s fifth straight appearance in the Colonial League final. The Tigers are 2-2 in the previous four, with wins over Palisades and Bangor, and losses to Palmerton and Bangor.

TURF OR GRASS ... The league plans to play Thursday’s championship at Pates Park in Allentown at 5 p.m. If rain renders the field unplayable, Cedar Crest College is on standby to host.

Notre Dame 000 000 0 - 0 4 0

Northwestern 010 000 x - 1 6 1

Szczepanski and S. Ryan; Freeman and Dunstan. W - Freeman. L - Szczepanski.

Records: NDGP (13-8), NWL (21-1)