Why does softball still exist?

I was reading this article about the history of women in baseball. I was surprised to find out that women played baseball professionally until the early 50’s when they were officially banned from the sport. Even with title IX, women are still strongly discouraged to play baseball and “forced” to play softball instead.

In the past, women have been encouraged to play a “tamer” version of a man’s sport. Instead of basketball, women played “women’s basketball”, which is now more commonly known as “netball.” Netball is still fairly popular outside the US, but if women want to play basketball, they don’t play netball. They play basketball.

Why do women still play softball instead of baseball? Even if they had to play in a women’s league instead of mixed gender, I could understand. But why has softball stuck around when netball has practically disappeared as a strongly suggested substitute for basketball?