When Erikka Murphy and Megan Granger arrived on the UL campus to begin their softball careers with the Ragin’ Cajuns, there were some big differences.

For one, Murphy was coming to a new town out of Memorial High in Victoria, Texas, with little idea of what to expect in the Division I game.

Granger, meanwhile, was returning home as a transfer after her true freshman season at Louisiana Tech, hoping for a better fit.

Both, however, came to be a part of one of the nation’s elite softball programs. And although the crucial part of their journey hasn’t even begun yet, both Murphy and Granger can see the end and know how enjoyable the ride has been.

The duo will be two of seven Cajun seniors to be honored this weekend in the final regular season home games of their careers at Lamson Park. The three-game series with UL Monroe begins with a 1 p.m. doubleheader today and concludes with a noon single game on Sunday.

"It’s been a lot of fun," said Granger, a product at Teurlings Catholic. "It’s been surreal almost. I couldn’t ask for more than I’ve gotten (at UL). These have been the best years of my life.

"They gave me a great opportunity here. I wasn’t that highly recruited out of high school."

Murphy was brought in to show off her speed and she’s done just that. She’s stolen a UL and Sun Belt Conference record 47 consecutive stolen bases. In fact, she’s 72-for-73 in stolen bases in her career with the only caught stealing at Arkansas on March 5, 2010.

"I did a lot of things in high school, but it was a small school, so coming from high school, college was totally different," Murphy said. "I’ve learned so much from the coaches and from my teammates and from the game. I’ve just tried to take it all in and try to use it. You can learn a lot of lessons that you can take with you into the rest of our life."

One lesson that both of these seniors have displayed all season is a team-first attitude. Both have played critical roles in UL’s 44-2 season thus far, but neither has started every game or even played in every game. Granger is hitting .300 with two doubles, a triple, two homers and 12 RBIs, while Murphy is batting .265 with 11 stolen bases. Neither, though, are the team’s typical headline-grabbers on a squad filled with star power.

"My goal is to be one of the best slappers in the country," Murphy said. "My senior year isn’t over yet, so I’m still working to improve. I didn’t do as good as I wanted to, but I didn’t do the worst either.

"I don’t worry about that (accolades). The most important thing to me is to help the team win. That is more important than my personal goals. Our team understands that if we lose one player, it affects everything."

As satisfying as both careers have gone at UL, it’s understood that one thing hasn’t yet been achieved — a national championship.

"The seniors are going to go out this weekend and have a good time," Granger said. "We’re not going to celebrate our careers yet, though. The best part is yet to come."

That’s why Murphy, Granger, the other five seniors and the rest of the team continue to strive to improve.

"This year has been a lot of fun," Granger said. "I’ve had a blast. But we do have some differences on this team too. We have weaknesses. No team is perfect. That’s why we continue to work hard to pursue excellence every day."