Well it can hit the plate but must also hit part of the mat.
. My first summer doing SP,we use the mat, and it was interesting to say the least.
The most important lesson I learned-people know all the rules. I had the catcher from hades last night, freely admitted her first week of SP ever. "I haven't even watched one complete baseball game my whole life." telling me about the must slide rule . Other than the bruised knee and the swollen family jewels from her,ahem,skill set I really enjoyed her sharing her belief system around SP.
I will do it again next summer but not work as many games.