What the Erie SeaWolves long ago accepted became reality Wednesday night.

They’ll sit out the Eastern League’s postseason for a fifth consecutive year.

The Akron Aeros salvaged the finale of the teams’ three-game series with a 6-4 victory at Jerry Uht Park. The last-place SeaWolves concluded their six-game homestand with an overall record of 55-74, while the Western Division-leading Aeros are now 76-53.

Wednesday’s outcome wouldn’t have mattered even if Erie had swept its Ohio rival. Second-place Bowie officially eliminated the SeaWolves with their 9-3 win over Richmond.

– Mike Copper

The Aeros were aided by solo home runs from Jesus Aguilar, Ryan Rohlinger and Thomas Neal.

Rohlinger’s homer was one of his four hits. The third baseman drove in three runs and scored a fourth.

The SeaWolves’ Nick Castellanos reached four times on a single and three walks. Shortstop Niuman Romero also boosted his league-leading hit total to 148 with a slug bunt single in the fifth inning.

Romero’s current total leaves him tied with Alejandro Freire (2001) and Clete Thomas (2007) for the fourth-highest, single-season total in franchise history. Third is Shawn Wooten, who finished with 151 hits for the 1999 SeaWolves.

Erie begins its final road trip of 2012 with Friday’s opener of a four-game series against the Reading Phillies.