State Sen. Matt Murphy injured in softball game

SPRINGFIELD — State Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican, plans to return to the suburbs today and get an MRI on his knee after injuring it in the annual House vs. Senate softball game in Springfield.

Murphy was carried from the softball diamond in an ambulance Wednesday after hurting himself trying to run out a ground ball at first base.

“When my left foot hit first base, my knee went out,” he said.

An X-ray showed the knee wasn’t broken, but Murphy said it’s swollen.

It’s unclear whether Murphy will need surgery and how long the injury will keep him from Springfield. He serves as one of the Senate Republicans’ budget experts, and lawmakers are facing a May 31 deadline to put together their spending plan for the next year.

“The timing almost couldn’t have been worse,” Murphy said.

The softball game is an annual bipartisan tradition in Springfield that comes with trash-talking speeches from the House and Senate floor before and after the game.

“I just had this bad feeling about the game,” Murphy said.

He drove in two runs and scored another, but the final score was House 12 and Senate 5.

“No, we didn’t even win,” he said.