Keep your torch, Olympics - Cincy has a baseball

The Olympics can keep its torch - Cincinnati has a baseball.

After all, what better way to pave the way to the All-Star Game at Great American Ball Park on July 14?

Over the next four months, an actual MLB baseball will travel with community leaders to high-profile community events and venues across Greater Cincinnati in an effort to spotlight what the community has to offer and generate some excitement for the All-Star Game.

"Baseball Across the Region" was launched at the Feb. 18 Crosstown Shootout at the University of Cincinnati. On Friday the ball will travel across the Ohio River to Thomas More College, where the top-ranked Lady Saints will host Greensboro College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament.

It isn't all about sports, though: the ball is also scheduled to visit places like Fountain Square, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, the Cincinnati Museum Center, Northern Kentucky University and a number of other venues.

Eventually, the ball will come to rest in a place of honor at the Reds Hall of Fame to commemorate the 2015 All-Star Game.

"Baseball Across the Region" was dreamed up by two business owners and self-described "baseball fanatics" from Northern Kentucky, Brent Cooper and Ralph Dusing.

It's an initiative of the cross-river Community Organizing Committee, the all-volunteer group coordinating local activities and efforts connected to the All-Star Game. MLB does have to sign off on COC activities, and organizers say the league liked the concept so much that they might implement it in other cities.

"It's about generating buzz for the All-Star Game, generating excitement about our community and showing off the best we have to offer," Cooper said. "It's a truly regional effort, and I think people are going to be really excited they were a part of it."

Follow the baseball's journey on Twitter using the hashtag #BATR.