A 52-year-old previously healthy woman with no significant past medical history presents with acute onset of fever (39.2°C), severe pleuritic chest pain, and productive cough with rust-colored sputum. On examination, she has tachypnea (RR 28/min) and dullness to percussion over the left lower lobe. Chest X-ray shows homogeneous consolidation involving the entire left lower lobe with air bronchograms, respecting the anatomical boundaries of the lobe. Blood culture grows *Streptococcus pneumoniae*. Which pathological stage of lobar pneumonia is most consistent with the clinical and radiological findings?