Sherman Ready to Carry Standard : College softball: Torgeson successor expects to bring national title to Cal State Northridge in five years.

The walls of the office still are cluttered with many of the same photographs, posters and plaques.

A hand-made sign, “There’s No Crying in Softball,” retains a prominent position.

Nowhere in the Cal State Northridge softball office does it say, Under New Management.

Former assistant Janet Sherman has been coach of the Matadors for almost two weeks and seemingly little has changed. Not until two days ago did friends finally persuade her to remove Gary Torgeson’s voice from the office telephone message machine.

“It was generic, it sounded good, so I figured, why bother?” Sherman said.

Her approach will be much the same with the Northridge softball program. In a nutshell: If it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it.

Earlier this month, Sherman, 30, became Northridge’s third softball coach. Torgeson, her predecessor, won 636 games in 13 seasons--more than any other coach in school history.

And Robert Guillaume thought he had it tough replacing Michael Crawford as the lead in Phantom of the Opera.

Torgeson’s old swivel chair is Sherman’s hot seat. But she says she wouldn’t have it any other way.

She had a choice. Sherman entertained an offer to start a softball program at the University of Wisconsin. She elected to stay closer to home.

“I want the pressure,” Sherman said. “When we got back from the (NCAA softball) World Series I knew I wanted to be a head coach.”

She wants it, she’s got it. Northridge, in only its fourth NCAA Division I campaign, last season compiled a 52-10 record, won its second consecutive Western Athletic Conference title and advanced to the national championship game, losing to top-ranked Arizona, 4-0.

All Sherman needs is something close to an encore--only without eight senior starters who have exhausted their eligibility.

“I have a lot of expectations for my players,” Sherman said, “but I don’t expect them to do any more than what I would do.”

As a player, Sherman starred at Granada Hills High, then played four seasons for UCLA--the last three as the Bruins’ starting catcher. She was a member of two national championship teams.

“I expect to have a national championship in five years,” Sherman said. “Right now that’s a dream. But that’s what coaches strive for. That’s why I’m here, because the potential is here.”

A pessimist might say Northridge’s cupboard is bare. Sherman is looking at a shopping cart that’s full.

“People talk about the eight starters we lost, but we have eight or nine players returning and a great recruiting class,” Sherman said. “And those players coming back have had a taste.

“They know how close they were to a national championship and they want to go back. It’s my job to take them there.”

Sherman was successful in her only other stint as a head coach, though under entirely different circumstances. When she took over the softball program at Immaculate Heart High in the spring of 1989 she was in a no-lose situation. There was no tradition to embrace. The team had won two games the previous year.

When Sherman’s team finished second in league play, she was considered a savior.

Northridge doesn’t need a savior. A disciple might suffice.

Sherman was a member of Torgeson’s staff the past four seasons--the last three as his top assistant.

Asked to compare her style with that of her former boss, Sherman replied, “I’m very competitive and I think I’m just as intense. We have the same thoughts going on inside, but we express them differently.”

Torgeson had a demonstrative, almost combative demeanor. Sherman, as an assistant, was his low-key conscience.

“I’m not a yeller and a screamer,” she said. “But the players do know what I expect of them and they know when things aren’t going the way I think they should be.”

For now, Sherman is settling in to a new routine that includes an array of administrative responsibilities, plus recruiting and counseling players on their academic and financial decisions.

She won’t take over on the field until mid-October, when the Matadors open fall drills.

Her calendar is full, and so is her desk--with mail.

But as she sits at her new place amid the vestiges of her old office, Sherman doesn’t have to look far for a reminder of what daunting challenges lie ahead.

On a message board adjacent to her desk a new slogan has been written: “Going to Keep it Alive in ‘95!!”

And for as long as possible thereafter.